Finding Love
by Ghostwriter
Summary: When Stefan and his siblings finally came home to Mystic Falls, he never expected to fall in love.
1. Return To Mystic Falls Part 1

FINDING LOVE

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Yes I know I still have two fics incomplete but this is one of my bigger protects so I'm gonna upload it. Sequel to "Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore" taking place some years after it and will have some deviation from the actual series, mainly the friendship between the characters. Like "Adventures Of The Youngest Salvatore", I will only be covering certain episodes of the series. What would be the first season is sophomore year, what would be the second season is junior year, and what would be the third season is senior year. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new spin on things.

Night had just fallen when the van rumbled onto the familiar street that led to Mystic Falls.

"Oh, this van has just about had it," Damon Salvatore noted.

"Well, we'll be home soon and then we can get our real cars," Stefan reminded him.

"What kind of cars do you have?" Sam wondered.

"Boys and their toys," Anna muttered at the same time and Pearl, Lexi, and Katherine laughed.

"Hey, it's not that funny! I missed my car too you know!" Casey protested. Katherine was about to reply when they all heard it: the sound of screeching tires.

"That's coming from Wickery Bridge," Damon noted and he, Stefan, and Katherine removed their seatbelts, opened their doors, and were off in a blur. When they got to the scene, the car had already been submerged. Without even thinking about it, the trio dived in and Stefan and Damon yanked the doors off of the car as the others immediately dialed nine-one-one. As Stefan headed for the youngest of the three people, Damon and Katherine headed for the older couple. Stefan quickly unbuckled the girl's seatbelt and his eyes widened when he got a look at her. She smelled and looked like Katherine! The girl in front of him shared Katherine's scent of iron, steel, and powder as well as smelling like pine needles and Earth. But how? Then he mentally shook his head and carefully took her into his arms. He had to get the girl to safety. And she needed to get her head checked out. From the smell and looks of it, she was bleeding profusely. Fortunately, he could hear her heart beating, though it was fainter than a human's heartbeat should be. He could ponder her resemblance to his sire later. Katherine looked at the older woman and then shook her head at Damon sadly. It was too late for her. Her heartbeat was gone. She then joined Damon at the older man's side.

"Elena. Save Elena," the man insisted.

"My brother's got her," Damon assured, as he placed a hand on the man's head keep the blood from flowing. Then, the trio quickly went back to the surface and pulled the two onto the road. The girl moaned, but didn't awaken.

"Thank you," the man gasped. Then, "Miranda!"

"She was already gone, I'm sorry," Katherine told him. _He has the same scent as Jonathan Gilbert_, she thought to himself. Jonathan Gilbert had smelled like pine needles and Earth and there was only one reason that the man would smell like Jonathan. He was one of his descendants. The man let out a shaky breath.

"Thank you…for saving me and my girl…I know what you are. I'll never betray your secret," he told them.

"Your ancestors promised the same thing. I know that you can be trusted," Katherine stated. And it was true. While Jonathan had created devices that tracked down vampires and other supernatural creatures, he had been attempting to track down the ones who had been feeding on the populous of Mystic Falls, not them. There was no way he could've foreseen the mass hysteria that had followed. Just then, the ambulance came. They quickly went to Elena, put her in the stretcher, and loaded her in, her father at her heels. The vampires glanced at one another.

"Should we follow them?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think we should," Casey replied and her older brothers nodded in agreement. With that, they all got back in the van and headed down the same road they had seen the ambulance go.

"Katherine, the girl-she looked like you," Stefan said.

"She must be a Petrova Doppelganger," Katherine replied.

"A what?" Damon questioned.

"I will explain at a more convenient time," Katherine told him. _If she really is part of my line, she must be protected at all costs_, she thought to herself. Then, her focus shifted as they reached the hospital a few minutes later. Inside Mystic Falls Community General Hospital, the doctors whisked an unconscious Elena into surgery.

"What happened?" a doctor asked.

"A car accident. They ran off Wickery Bridge," a paramedic replied. While this was going on, a doctor was checking on Grayson.

"Well, everything seems to be okay and you aren't exhibiting any signs of a concussion, but I'd like to keep you overnight just in case," the doctor told him.

"Of course," Grayson agreed just as Sheriff Elizabeth "Liz" Forbes walked in.

"Grayson, I realize that this is a bad time, but I'm afraid I have bad news," she said.

"She didn't make it, did she?" Grayson queried and Liz shook her head.

"Does Jeremy know?" Grayson queried.

"A deputy's with him now," Liz assured. While the woman said this, one of the deputies walked up to the Gilbert residence and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Jeremy Gilbert.

"What can I do for you, Deputy?" Jeremy questioned.

"Jeremy, your parents and sister have been in an accident. Your father's car went off the Wickery Bridge," the man replied.

"WHAT!? ARE THEY OKAY? I WANNA SEE THEM!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"Miranda didn't make it, but Grayson and Elena are at Mystic Falls Community General," the deputy told him.

"Take me there," Jeremy demanded and the deputy led the boy to his car, where they got in, and they headed towards the hospital. Within minutes, they were at the building and before the car was completely slowed, Jeremy had opened the door and rushed towards the entrance.

"Hold on!" the deputy called, running after him. As they ran in, Stefan, Damon, Casey, Katherine, Lexi, Pearl, Anna, and Sam headed out.

"I hope they'll be okay," Sam said.

"Well, I heard the doctor say Grayson Gilbert will be fine, though they're worried about the girl," Casey replied as they all got in the car.

"Speaking of worrying, I'm sure Zach is going out of his head due to our tardiness," Damon commented.

"Oh, my gosh! We better go!" Casey gasped. With that, Damon started the car and once more headed for the Salvatore Boarding House where their descendent, Zachary "Zach" Salvatore was pacing worriedly. Where were they? Had they run into some sort of trouble? An approaching car engine broke the man's reverie and he headed for the entrance to the boarding house. He opened the door as the vampires headed for the houses. He frowned. He didn't recognize a couple of them. However, from their gait, it was obvious that they were all friends.

"Uncle Zach!" Casey exclaimed happily and blurred towards him and then wrapped him in a hug, being careful not to grab him too tightly. He laughed.

"It's good to see you too," he said. "Why don't you all come on in?" he invited. With that, they all walked through the threshold.

"Thank you. We promise only to stay long enough until we can procure our own place," Pearl told him.

"Yeah, we don't want to impose on you," Lexi added.

"Nonsense. Any friends of theirs are friends of mine and you're welcome to stay here as long as you want," Zach told them.

"Are you sure? As I said, we wouldn't want to impose," Lexi stated.

"It's no imposition," Zach assured. "Now then, you five have seem to have picked up a couple of new friends," he continued.

"I'm Lexi," Lexi introduced herself.

"Zach Salvatore," Zach stated as they shook hands. "How long have you been hanging out with them?" he wondered.

"Awhile. I just usually don't choose to come here. I get a little stir-crazy in small towns," Lexi explained.

"I see," Zach said. "And you?" he queried, turning to the boy next to Casey.

"Uncle Zach, this is Sam Richards, my mate," Casey introduced him.

"Nice to meet you," Zach told him.

"Same here," Sam responded. Then, "He's your uncle?"

"Well, actually, I'm their descendent. Posing as their uncle just helps their cover," Zach explained.

"Oh, I see," Sam said. _I suppose that makes sense_, he thought.

"Sorry we're late, but there was an accident out on Wickery Bridge," Damon told him.

"What? Was anyone hurt?" Zach asked in alarm.

"It was Jonathan Gilbert's descendants. The father and daughter are relatively unharmed, but unfortunately, the mother was already gone when we got there," Katherine answered. Back at the hospital, Jeremy was in Elena's room, watching over her. Just then, the nurse came in.

"So how come she hasn't woken up yet?" Jeremy wondered anxiously.

"Well, there was no sign of significant head trauma, so it could simply be her body's way of resting and healing herself," the nurse replied as she went about her duties. When she was done, she left. Jeremy blew out a breath.

"Come on, Elena. You've got to wake up," he murmured. Just then, he heard running footsteps.

"Jer!" a voice exclaimed, causing him to stand up and turn around in surprise to see Bonnie Bennett, Caroline Forbes, Matt and Vicki Donovan, and Tyler Lockwood rushing in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Jeremy wondered. _Especially Tyler. We're not even friends_, he mused to himself.

"I heard about the accident from my mom," Caroline answered.

"And then she called the rest of us," Bonnie added. She bit her lip. She couldn't believe she was in the hospital again. The last time she was here, it was because her dad was dying. The girl mentally shook herself and refocused her attention on Elena. She couldn't think about that. Elena needed her.

"How is she?" Vicki wondered, hugging Jeremy. Sure, she wasn't really friends with Elena, but she wouldn't ever want anything bad to happen to her.

"She hasn't woken up. The nurse who was just said that since there wasn't any significant head trauma, it could just be her body's way of healing herself," Jeremy replied.

"Thank God," Matt sighed in relief. Even though they had broken up a few months ago, they were still good friends and Matt was still hoping that they'd get back together.

"She'll pull through. I just know it," Caroline predicted and the others made similar statements. Jeremy managed a small smile at the group. He didn't know whether or not they all believed what they were saying, but he was grateful for their optimism all the same. He turned his gaze to his older sister who-except for the fact that she was in a hospital gown-could've been sleeping at home. If he closed his eyes, he could make believe that they were at home and Elena was fast asleep. However, he knew that was pointless. She wasn't asleep. Back at The Salvatore Boarding House, the vampires had picked their rooms and had finished unpacking. Stefan was now in his room, writing in his journal.

Dear Diary, we've come home to Mystic Falls. And apparently, we got here just in time. A car had gone off of Wickery Bridge, trapping a family of three under water. We managed to save the father and his daughter, but unfortunately, the mother was already gone. I can't even imagine what that family must be going through now. I'm just glad we were able to save the father and daughter. The daughter…she looks like Katherine. How is that possible? Katherine says she must be a Petrova Doppelganger, though I'm not sure what she means by that and Katherine said she'd explain. I'm not sure who the girl is, but I **have** to know her…

Stefan placed his pen down and reread the last words he had written. It was true. For some reason he had been drawn to the girl-and it wasn't just the resemblance to his Sire-and he couldn't wait to get to know her better. He let out a small smile. Things were about to get interesting in Mystic Fall.


	2. Return To Mystic Falls Part 2

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new stuff. I'm using a variation of something that was in the books so that belongs to L.J. Smith as well.

Over the next few days, Grayson and Jeremy, along with Matt, Bonnie, Tyler, Caroline, and Vicki, visited Elena, each of them trying to get her to wake up.

"Hey sis. It's me again. Look, you need to wake up, okay?" Jeremy said.

"Yeah, he's going crazy without you," Vicki added. Then, "Look, I know we're not best friends and-maybe I don't really like you all that much, especially since Matty's hurting since you broke up, but…you can't die! It would hurt him and Jer. Come on! You gotta wake up," Vicki encouraged, reaching over and squeezing her hand. _Oh, please. Please wake up soon. I don't think Jeremy will be able to take this much longer_, she thought to herself. Hearing footsteps, the two turned around to see Matt, Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie.

"We'll let you guys talk," Vicki stated.

"Why don't you guys go first?" Tyler suggested to the others.

"Matt, you go ahead," Bonnie told the boy. Matt nodded and walked into the room as Vicki and Jeremy walked out to join the others.

"Hey, how you holding up?" Tyler asked in concern.

"It's hard. I want to her wake up," Jeremy confessed.

"She will, man. She will," Tyler assured, reaching over to quickly rub his arm reassuringly. Sure he and the younger boy weren't the best of friends, but Tyler knew he needed all the support he could get. While this was going on, Matt had sat down in the chair that was placed near the bed's head.

"Hey, uh…look, I don't know if you can hear me or not, but…you gotta come out of this. You hear me? Wake up. Everybody's worried sick," Matt told her and then just like every other time, he leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on the girl's forehead. Then, he took her hand and squeezed it gently. _Come on Elena. You have to wake up. I can't make it without you_, he thought to himself. After he was done, he walked back out as Bonnie, Tyler, and Caroline walked in. Bonnie glanced at Tyler. She wasn't sure why but over the past few days, she had gotten the feeling that he was somehow going to become connected to her, Caroline, and Elena. She had gotten the same feelings around Vicki, Matt, and Jeremy, but on a somewhat smaller scale. _I wonder what it means_, she thought to herself. Should she talk to her grandmother? Or would it do any good? _Grams would just say that it's because I'm coming into my witch powers_, she thought to herself. And she wasn't really sure what she thought about her supposed legacy. Usually Grams would spout off after watching something she didn't agree with, but Bonnie had the feeling that this time it was different. Then, she mentally shook her head and then subtly motioned Tyler forward with her head and he stepped forward. He wasn't sure why, but for a while now, he had gotten the feeling that he, Elena, and the others were about to become wrapped in each other's lives…which didn't make sense given the fact that they hadn't gotten along since the end of junior high, though they had all been friends then and when they were younger. In fact, they had all been **extremely** close and protective of one another, unified as a group, complete with a group name. Tyler gave himself a mental shake. That had been when they were younger. They hadn't been friends for a long time. Not since his father had started grooming him to take over the family's business, which according to his father, included some day becoming mayor of Mystic Falls. Almost as if they were all being compelled to do so, Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler all stretched out a hand and placed it on Elena's. For a moment, the trio didn't say a word. Then, the hum started. At first, it was so soft, none of them was sure that they were actually hearing it. But then it became louder and louder, until they were all sure their eardrums would burst.

"What's going on?" Caroline wondered in a frightened voice.

"I don't know!" Tyler answered, instinctively squeezing her hand reassuringly. The humming grew even louder and Bonnie gasped as a bright light clouded her vision. _Elena, Tyler, Caroline, and Bonnie were fighting figures that were hidden in shadows. But their fighting wasn't undisciplined, but sharp and focused. The figures began to surround them and without even looking at each other, the four immediately moved towards each other until their backs were touching. Then, the fighting continued._ In her house across town, Sheila Bennett gasped as she felt electricity crackling in the air. Something powerful was going on. But what? Bonnie's brows furrowed in confusion. What did that mean? Then, another image swam before her. _There was a fire and people groaning in pain. A man tried to grab Caroline, but Tyler stared at the man with deep intensity and fire immediately enveloped the would-be attacker._ Then, all of a sudden, Bonnie was back in the hospital room.

"Bonnie! What was that?" Caroline demanded.

"I-I have no idea," Bonnie stammered. She was about to say more, when they all heard a familiar groan.

"Elena!" they all chorused. The girl groaned again and then opened her eyes.

"You're here," Elena whispered as Tyler ran to the door.

"Nurse! She's awake!" he shouted. In her house, Sheila shivered as the air's electricity continued to crackle. She wasn't absolutely sure, but she was almost certain that Bonnie had just come into her powers. And along with her, her friends' powers had resurfaced. These powers hadn't been active for a about a year now, but it would seem that the time had come for them to be made known once again. _I'm not quite sure what's going on, but I do know Bonnie's going to need a great deal of help_, the woman thought to herself. And given the fact that her mother had taken off when the girl was born and her father had just died, it was up to her. With that, she went into her room and pulled out two medium-sized books. It was time to get cracking. Mystic Falls was going to have a whole lot of trouble coming soon, and the town was going to need all the help it could get. With a sigh, she started reading and nodding to herself. Yes, it was all here and it was just what she needed. She frowned in concentration as she read the words. She needed to be able to help Bonnie and her friends when they came into their powers. She continued poring over the books. The next time she looked up, the sun had fallen. With a wave of her hand, the electricity came on and she continued to read. Over the next few days, Sheila spent all of her free time studying the grimoires as well as others that belonged to her family, trying to retain every bit of information that she needed so that she could properly train her granddaughter. A few mornings later, Elena showed up at Mystic Falls High, with Jeremy at her heels. With a sigh, her mind flashed back to the funeral. _ Elena sat in the pew, frozen. How could this be happen? How could her mother be dead? It was unreal. It had to be a really bad dream. Surely she'd wake up any second to have her mother be making breakfast and giving her advice about what to do regarding Matt. __Mommy. Mommy, you can't be gone__, Elena thought. Beside her, Jenna sobbed. __Oh, Miranda. What am I supposed to do without you?_ _she wondered. She wasn't supposed to lose Miranda. Not yet. Not this soon. Grayson leaned over and placed a hand on Jenna's_ _shoulder. __Damn. This isn't how I wanted to get Jenna back here. And how am I supposed to raise Elena and Jeremy without Miranda? We're a team. I can't do this without my partner__, he thought to_ _himself. Then, he refocused his attention back to the preacher, squeezing his sister-in-law's shoulder as he did so. Jeremy just stared at the floor, tuning out the preacher's words. How could his mother be dead? It was unreal._ _I-I-I was just talking to her a few days ago. She can't be dead. She can't be!_ _his mind screamed. Man, he could use some drugs._ The sound of someone calling her name broke Elena from her reverie. She let out a small smile as Bonnie and Caroline ran up to them, both wrapping their arms around the siblings tightly.

"Hey. How you holding up?" Caroline questioned.

"Not well. I just-I can't wrap my head around it. How can she be gone?" Elena wondered with a heavy sigh.

"That pretty much sums it up," Jeremy agreed.

"Ohhh…I wish I could do something for you guys…take this pain away," Bonnie stated.

"Me too," Caroline agreed.

"You guys being here's enough," Elena stated. Jeremy didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement and then headed for his homeroom as Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie did the same. Meanwhile, Stefan, Casey, Sam, and Anna were in the principal's office, getting their schedules from the receptionist. Once they had the required paperwork, the group headed for the homeroom.

"Thank goodness Zach was willing to get us registered," Casey sighed in relief.

"And our covers make sense too," Sam added and she laughed, as she leaned into him.

"Yeah, you're my adopted brother and we moved here because Mom wanted to open up a new drugstore here, and Casey and Stefan are living with Zach because their parents died a few months ago, while Katherine and Damon bought an apartment downtown, as did Lexi and my mother, which will become a reality as soon as humanly possible," Anna added.

"You guys know you can stay with us for as long as you want, right?" Casey questioned.

"Yes, and we all appreciate that. But it'd probably look less strange if we got our own places," Anna replied. While they walked towards the homeroom, they glanced at their schedules.

"Tanner?" Casey asked in surprise, seeing the name of the history teacher.

"Well, I doubt it's our old math teacher," Sam commented.

"That would be weird," Casey said.

"Definitely," Sam agreed. They continued on their way to their homeroom. In their own homeroom, Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena were at their desks, waiting for the teacher. Elena blew out a breath. She wasn't really sure if she believed her friends' theory that a jolt of power had make her wake up, but she **had** felt something right before opening her eyes. What it was though, she had no clue. And she **was** curious about the people who had rescued them. According to her father, their rescuers were a new family in town. Presently, Tyler came up to them.

"I think we need to talk," he said softly.

"About what?" Elena questioned in the same tone. "I mean, I woke up. Why can't we just leave it at that?" she wondered.

"Because of that jolt we all felt. It was power, and there's no denying that. Now I feel like-energized or something," he responded. Elena fell silent.

"So do I," she finally admitted. "It almost feels like the strength we had when we were calling ourselves the Strikers," she continued.

"Exactly!" Caroline agreed. They all stared at each other. The Strikers. It was a name they had all relished in junior high. However, they had given it up the summer before freshmen year. Just then, the door opened a small group of teens walked in.

"Hey, who are they?" Caroline wondered, staring at a dark-haired boy wearing blue jeans, a gray shirt, a black leather jacket, and black Ray Bans. _Mmmm…gonna get me some of that_, she thought to herself, squaring her shoulders and looking at him flirtatiously. However, when he didn't respond, she just gave a shrug. Oh, well. Couldn't blame a girl for trying.

"I don't know," Elena responded, looking at the same boy. _He is seriously cute_, she thought to herself. Casey, Sam, Anna, and Stefan took their seats.

"We're being stared at," Sam murmured so that only the group could hear.

"You mean **Stefan**'**s** being stared at," Casey corrected in the same tone.

"I just wanna get to know the dark-haired girl," Stefan told them. _She's really cute_, he thought.

"You mean the one who looks like our Sire?" Casey queried.

"That's the one," Stefan confirmed.

"I have to admit, I'm a bit curious about her myself," Casey confessed.

"What do you think Katherine meant when she said that she was the Doppelganger?" Sam questioned. Casey and Stefan shrugged, and then looked to Anna.

"I only know a little. And of that, it is not my story to tell," she replied.

"Fair enough," the others chorused. Then, they turned back to the teacher who was merely supervising them. When homeroom was over, Sam, Casey, Stefan, and Anna went their separate ways. Stefan and Casey's next class was history with Tanner. Stefan leaned back in his seat as the man droned on about the Mystic Falls and the Founding Families. _Ohhhh…I do not want to hear about this. I do not care_, Stefan thought to himself. He wasn't really in the mood to hear about old Mystic Falls and how they "saved" the town. _Saved it. Right. You mean nearly destroyed it_, he thought to himself as he shared a glance with his sister, who rolled her eyes and stuck her finger down her throat, feigning gagging and Stefan shared a smirk with her before letting his thoughts wander back to the night he and the others had left. That night had been chaos with the townspeople looking to destroy vampires. Though he couldn't really blame Jonathan Gilbert. After all, he had just been looking for the vampires and other creatures who had been preying on Mystic Falls. It wasn't his fault that the rest of the Council had been overzealous in their efforts to save the town. In fact, if it hadn't been for Jonathan, he and the others would've been dead. Then, he shook his head as if to clear it and forced himself to pay attention. Kevin Tanner looked around the classroom as he continued his lecture. As usual, his class looked utterly bored. _These ungrateful ignoramuses_, he thought to himself. They had no idea just how lucky they were to have a great history teacher like himself as their instructor. It was no wonder half of the class was failing miserably. Stefan glanced at the teacher who seemed to be on edge but then mentally shook himself and continued to take notes. When the class was over, Stefan stood up, gathered up his belongings, and then headed out. Meanwhile, Elena and Caroline were talking and laughing as they also headed to their next class. Suddenly, Caroline stopped.

"What? What is it?" Elena queried, doing the same.

"I think something bad's about to happen. I-I-I can't explain it. It's-just a feeling," Caroline told her.

"What do you mean 'bad'?" Elena wondered.

"I don't know," Caroline answered. Then, "You know what? I'm crazy. I'm crazy. Either that, or I'm just loopy cause I didn't eat a whole lot for breakfast."

"I'm voting for crazy." They laughed again. Then, they headed for the stairs and started up. What they didn't know was that Stefan was also heading in that direction. Elena had just reached the top of the stairs when a passing student bumped into her. With a startled cry, she toppled backward.

"Elena!" Caroline exclaimed, reaching out to catch her friend. However, she didn't move fast enough. Without even thinking about it, Stefan blurred to where the girls were and instantly caught Elena. Elena's breath caught. What had happened?

"You okay?" a voice asked.

"Yeah. I-" Elena's voice died as she stared up at her rescuer. _Whoa…_she thought to herself. He was seventeen, Caucasian, and had the most gorgeous hazel eyes she had ever seen.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Even though the flashback's technically in Elena's POV, I needed a way to show what each member of the family was thinking about Miranda's death. I got the idea for the psychic angle and different powers from L.J. Smith's Dark Visions trilogy and will become important as the fic progresses. The group name Strikers and the bond between Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler is a variation of the Velociraptor Sisterhood between Bonnie, Elena, Meredith, and Caroline (at first) in the VD books.


	3. Return To Mystic Falls Part 3

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith. I only own the plot and any original characters I might add.

Stefan couldn't help staring at the girl as he righted her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

"Y-yeah. I'm fine," she replied. "I'm Elena," she continued.

"I'm Stefan," he told her as Caroline came hurrying down.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you all right?" she queried, grabbing her friend and checking her anxiously.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," came the quick response. "I guess you aren't crazy or looped after all."

"When I said I felt like something bad was about to happen, I didn't think you'd fall down the freaking stairs," the blonde stated. Stefan stared at the girl in confusion. He had heard her saying that, but he had figured it was just a figure of speech. Plus, what was the other scent of Power coming from both of them?

"Weird," Elena stated. _It's just like in junior high. She would feel something and then it would happen_, she thought. If it was just like those times, it meant that they were all about to get connected-bound to each other. Caroline glanced at Elena and then at the new boy.

"I'm Caroline," she stated.

"Nice to meet you," he told her. Caroline glanced at Stefan and then back at Elena. Then, she gave herself a mental shrug. Yeah, she and Elena were sometimes rivals and had chased after the same boys before, but she had a feeling that this time was different-that this **boy** was different. Besides, they were Strikers. Or…had been at one point. And Strikers stuck together and knew when to stand down…even if they weren't currently calling themselves that. Stefan turned to Elena.

"Could I walk you to class?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that," the girl replied and her friend shook her head and laughed. Yeah, this was going to be interesting for sure. As they walked to their next class, Elena kept sneaking glances at Stefan. "So…when did you guys move here?" she wondered.

"Fairly recently. My parents died a few months back and my brother sent me here to live with our uncle and he and his girlfriend have an apartment in town," Stefan answered. Elena's breath quickened and she glanced at him, resisting the urge to raise an eyebrow. He had just lied to her. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she did. But why would he lie? What reason would he have? It didn't make sense. Stefan looked at the girl with some trepidation. Why was she looking at him like that? And he heard her breath quicken, but there was no reason for it. He hadn't done anything to make her nervous. Before he could question her, they were at their next class. Elena furiously took notes as she listened to the lecture, trying to force her mind off of what had just happened. _How did I know he was lying to me and why did my breath quicken when he did?_ she wondered. It didn't make sense. But at the same time, it felt familiar…almost comforting. But why? She had never been able to tell when someone was lying before…except…Elena gasped. _No. No, no, no, no. It can't be. The Strikers are dead and gone. We disbanded_, she thought to herself. They had drifted apart and the powers had disappeared. Why would everything just flare up again? There was no reason for it. Meanwhile, Caroline and Bonnie were talking in whispers.

"What do you mean your Powers are back?" Bonnie asked in a whisper.

"I got a feeling that something bad was going to happen and then a passing student accidentally knocked Elena down the stairs," Caroline replied in the same tone.

"That's not much proof," Bonnie reminded.

"I know. But something tells me I'm right," Caroline stated.

"Whoa," Bonnie sighed, blowing out a breath. That was heavy.

"Miss Bennett, Miss Forbes. Is there something you'd like to share with the class?" the teacher queried.

"No Miss Walters," the girls chorused. Meanwhile, in her own class, Anna was also taking notes. Or rather, pretending to take notes. As she did so, she kept glancing at a blond-haired boy with blue eyes who had a bit of an Earthy scent. _He's really cute_, she thought to herself. Granted, he didn't really seem to be her usual type, but maybe it was time for a change. She needed someone calm, stable…someone grounded. Feeling someone sneaking glances at him, Matt looked over to the girl sitting next to him. She was gorgeous. Not really in a typical way, and she didn't look like the type he usually went for, but maybe that's what he needed. Someone quiet, down-to-earth…stable. Yeah, he had been hurt when Elena had broken up with him and had harbored some small hope that they would get back together, but when he thought about it, they had been growing apart romantically for a while, and it was probably for the best. Catching his stare, Anna let out an inaudible laugh. It would appear that she had attracted him as well. _Well, this should be interesting_, she thought to herself. And if she was right about his personality, he was **definitely** someone her mother would approve of. Then, she forced herself to pay attention, even though she didn't really have to. That was the only thing that sucked about being a vampire: having to repeat things numerous times. Well, at least she wasn't alone. That was one of the many things Katherine had made sure of: that none of them were ever alone. From what her mother had told her, Katherine had spent many years apart from people, and wanted to make sure that it never happened to the people she cared about…including those she sired, not that there was a lot of them. Despite herself, Anna found herself taking careful notes. Sooner than she thought, the class was over. Then, she gathered up her things, stood up, and walked out.

"Hey!" Anna turned around to see the boy who had been eying her.

"I'm Matt Donovan," he introduced himself.

"Anna Huong," Anna said, using her real name for the first time in several years.

"Nice to meet you," Matt stated.

"Nice to meet you," Anna told him.

"I'm totally going to be stating the obvious, but you're new around here, aren't you?" Matt queried. Anna laughed.

"Yeah, I'm new here," she confirmed. "My mom's opening up a new drugstore here which has been her dream for like ever," she continued with a small laugh.

"That sounds cool. We could use a new one." Anna laughed again.

"I think I better get to my next class before I'm late."

"I'll walk you." With that, they walked off. In a different corridor of the school, Stefan had just dialed a number.

"Hello?" a voice queried.

"Katherine, we need to talk. **Now**," Stefan announced.

"That's quite a tone to take with me," Katherine stated with some amusement. Stefan wasn't usually so demanding, especially with her.

"I apologize. But I just smelled power emitting from Grayson Gilbert's daughter," Stefan told her.

"All Doppelgangers have powers. Even **I** did. But I was too frightened to embrace them," Katherine responded.

"We need the full story, Katherine," Stefan declared.

"After school. And I look forward to hearing all about your first day," Katherine told him and then hung up. Stefan stared at his phone and then gave a laughing scoff. His sire was something else. He let out an unnecessary breath and then went to his next class. When school was finally out, Stefan headed out to the front of the school just as a black 1969 Chevy Camaro Convertible showed up. Stefan let out a grin.

"And here I thought you'd go for the 80s Mustang," he commented.

"I thought Cassandra totaled it in the 90s," his sire responded.

"No. No, she totaled the Lamborghini," the older Salvatore corrected. It only took a moment for Stefan to start laughing.

"Oh, yeah. I remember that night. She was drag-racing and she ran circles around the guy before crashing because she forgot to replace the brake fluid," he recalled.

"Not one of her brighter moves," Katherine chuckled.

"Now we just gotta wait for Casey, Anna, and Sam," Stefan said as he got into the car. Almost as if he had conjured them by mentioning, the trio appeared. Stefan watched as Sam took Casey's hand and twirled her around and the middle Salvatore let a soft smile grace his lips. He was so happy that Casey had finally found someone. After all these years of having the most horrible luck with men, it was nice to finally see her with someone good. The trio walked up to them and got into the car. Then, Damon started his car and they headed down the road.

"What's going on?" Casey wondered.

"Stefan said we needed to talk. I called Lexi and Pearl. They'll meet us at the Salvatore house," Katherine replied.

"Good to know you're still offering up our dwellings," Damon deadpanned, resulting in a light slap on his chest from his girlfriend. Stefan, Casey, Sam, and Anna laughed as they continued down the road. Within seconds, they were at their old home, where they found a pink convertible.

"Who's car?" Sam asked.

"Pearl's," Stefan replied.

"Why **are** we meeting here anyway?" Sam wondered, as they walked up to the entrance.

"Because it's bigger, which means it's less cramped," Katherine replied, entering the residence, where Lexi, Pearl, and Anna were waiting.

"Make sense," Casey stated, following them as the others did the same. Hearing footsteps, Zach walked in.

"Whoa. Looks serious," he commented.

"I have something that I need to discuss with them and it includes my family history," Katherine replied.

"Sounds long. I'll get the whisky and the blood," Zach told them and then went to do just that with Casey right behind him. A few minutes later, they came back with a whisky bottle, a blood bottle, and glasses. Zach set the bottles on the coffee table as Casey placed the glasses right beside the bottles. Then Zach walked out of the room.

"Okay, Stefan. What's going on?" Lexi asked, pouring the liquor and then the blood.

"It's about one of my classmates: Elena Gilbert," Stefan replied.

"Yeah, she was pretty, but what about her?" Sam queried. Casey smacked him. "Ow! Not as pretty as you!" he defended. Anna chuckled as she grabbed a glass full of blood and drank it. Men.

"I smelled some sort of strange power emitting from her and while we were talking, I heard her breath quicken, even though I didn't do anything," Stefan told them as he and the others each grabbed a glass of blood. "Now Katherine, you said that she was a Petrova Doppelganger. What does that mean?" he continued and then took a drink.

"The original Petrova's blood was how the vampire race was created and is to key to making a very powerful vampire/werewolf even more so," Katherine began after taking a drink.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Vampire **and** werewolf?" Stefan asked, halting his actions so that her glass was halfway to her lips.

"Werewolves are real too?" Sam questioned at the same time.

"Klaus," Elena growled and the others except for Katherine looked at her. "It was the twenties; I was hanging out with Elijah who told me all about his family including his big brother. They're Originals, but not **the** Original," she explained.

"Yes," Katherine responded to both questions as well as confirming Casey's assumption. "I was a Doppelganger and I learned that in order for the hybrid-Klaus-to fully access his power, he needed my blood, which would kill me and then awaken his wolf side which was suppressed by the original Bennett Witch," she continued.

"But I thought Rose and Trevor turned you so that wouldn't happen. How'd you have a kid? I mean, as far as I know, we can't reproduce," Damon puzzled.

"Though I'm sure in your case Brother, it hasn't been for a lack of trying," Casey quipped and everyone groaned and rolled their eyes as the girl took a drink.

"In 1492, I had a child out of wedlock. Granted, that's not such a sin now, but back then it was very scandalous and I was sent away while my child was sent elsewhere," Katherine replied. "From what I understood: in order for Klaus to complete the ritual in which his werewolf side is reawakened, the Doppelganger has to die," she finished. Everyone stared at one another.

"So **that**'**s** why Elijah gave us up," Casey finally said. "Klaus wanted you dead because you screwed up his ritual," she continued, placing her blood drink down and then taking a glass of whiskey and downing it angrily. _Man, I can't believe I was so stupid as to fall for him_, she thought.

"But why? From what I remember, Elijah hated Klaus," Stefan stated.

"There are times I hate you and Damon, but I'd still do whatever you asked me to," Casey replied.

"But now that you mention it, Brother, he **did** seem out of it. Almost like he was compelled…though I don't know if that's possible," Damon mused.

"Vampires compelling other vampires. Scary thought," Stefan muttered.

"Whatever. He betrayed us. He betrayed **me**! Casey spat out, taking another glass of whiskey and drinking it angrily.

"Anyways, I have always tried my best to make sure that none of my descendants are ever discovered by Klaus…**especially** any Doppelgangers, which fortunately, are rare," Katherine said, bringing them back to the original subject. "And as I recall, Originals **can** compel other vampires, but I don't think they can compel each other…unless Klaus made one of them. Then it's possible there's a sire thing that would make it impossible for him to disobey Klaus if given an order," she continued. Casey grabbed another glass and poured some more liquor, and began to drink it.

"Easy, Little Sister," Damon cautioned, taking the glass and then switching it for her glass of blood. Casey rolled her eyes but washed down her anger with the blood as the others also drank the blood Zach had provided for them. In his own room, Zach was poring over some paperwork, his eyes clouding. _This isn't making sense. I don't recall this account_, he thought to himself. And it wasn't on any of the other records Damon, Stefan, or Casey ever kept. He had noticed this account a few weeks ago, but had just figured it was something recent. After all, they didn't have to answer to him for anything even if they **had** asked him to keep an eye on their financials, but still, he couldn't figure out which one it was for, though he got as many copies of the account and its deposits and withdrawals. _Hmm…I think I need to ask them_, he thought to himself. He took the papers with the account's statements and walked back into the foyer.

"Zach, what is it?" Stefan questioned as he and the others turned to the man.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but a new account appeared a few weeks ago, but I can't trace it to any of the names you usually use and the Don Marchetti account seems to be losing money," Zach apologized.

"Let us see," Damon requested and the papers were handed to him. His brows furrowed in confusion as the others crowded around. "Not any of mine," he stated.

"Not mine," Stefan added. Casey shook her head and stared at the others who responded negatively.

"Thanks for letting us know. We'll take care of it," Damon told Zach and then went to a phone and dialed a number. Moments later, he got through and began talking.

"I probably should've told you about the account when it first appeared-" Zach began.

"No, no, no, no. That's okay. We understand that it's hard to keep up with all of our accounts," Stefan interrupted. _Especially Casey's_, he thought. His younger sister had more accounts than him and Damon combined.

"No, no. Maximilian Donati was an ancestor of mine in 1892 on my…great-grandmother's side…I believe. From what I recall, he was the cousin to my ancestors Stefan and Damon Salvatore," Damon said into the phone. Then, "Yes, I would like to freeze the Donati account and if it's possible, replenish the Marchetti account." A few minutes later, he thanked the person on the phone and then hung up.

"Well?" Lexi asked.

"They're gonna get everything straightened out as soon as they can," Damon replied. "Of course there's no rush since all of us have like a bazillion others," he continued and his siblings laughed. While this was going on, Elena was sitting on her bed writing in her diary.

_Dear Diary. It's only been a few days since Mom died. Oh, I miss her! But I'm so grateful that Jeremy and I still have Dad. If we had lost him too, I don't know what we'd do. I heard Aunt Jenna crying last night. Not that I can blame her. I've been crying a lot too. Jer's kind of a wreck too, but Matt and Tyler's been really good to him. Which is so weird. Tyler hasn't really been much of a friend to us since high school started, but he's really been there for us and I couldn't be more grateful. Speaking of Tyler, that brings me to some other stuff that's been going on. The other day, Caroline predicted that something bad was going to happen and then I fell down the stairs. I would've gotten hurt if I hadn't been caught by one of the new boys in school: Stefan Salvatore. He was really polite and gentlemanly. But then…he lied to me after I asked him when he moved here. And Diary…my breath quickened…just like it used to when someone lied. Oh, I don't know what's going on. Are the Strikers returning? That would be kind of cool, Diary. I miss that bond we used to have: me, Caroline, Bonnie, and Tyler. We were inseparable. But then Mr. Lockwood decided that he wanted to groom Tyler to take his place in high society and maybe one day become mayor. After Tyler left us, so did our powers. Not all at once…gradually…and in a way it hurt…I felt cold all over. But if it's really back…oh! That would be awesome! Please Diary, let it be true. Let the Strikers be coming back!_

Elena laid her pen down and let out a sigh. What she had written in her diary was true: it **would** be awesome if the Strikers were back. However, as far as knew, only she and Caroline had felt a returning of their old Powers. Elena let out a smile as she flopped backwards on her bed. If the Strikers really **were** back, things were gonna get fun. And she, for one, could hardly wait.


	4. Friday Night Bites Part 1

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists on things. Some lines and one scene are from the actual show. Some events are switched around and Grayson told Elena who saved them from the crash.

Elena was in a deep sleep when her alarm went off, blaring a rock song. She got up, got dressed dancing to the song, gathered up her things, turned off her alarm, and then headed downstairs to hear Jeremy and her dad arguing.

"I don't believe this, Jeremy! Pot!? What were you thinking?" Grayson yelled as Elena came into the kitchen. Jenna Sommers was leaning against a counter, looking uncomfortable.

"Dad found Jer's stash?" Elena asked softly.

"Oh, yeah," Jenna confirmed in the same tone. However, Grayson heard them.

"You two knew about this?" he queried, whirling around.

"I noticed he was a little out of it last week," Elena answered.

"And I caught him using eye drops the other day and he was pretty looped," Jenna added. Grayson blew out an irritated breath. _Great. Just wonderful_, he thought to himself.

"Okay. Jeremy, you're grounded. No extracurriculars for a week, except for the upcoming art show. Elena, you're grounded for a week as well. Like Jeremy, no extracurriculars, except for cheerleading and I'll be picking both of you up for a week," Grayson stated.

"But-" the siblings started to protest.

"Jeremy, you've been doing drugs. You're lucky I'm being so lenient. Elena, you found this out and didn't tell me. You're also lucky I'm being lenient," Grayson told them.

"Yes, Sir," they chorused.

"And as for you-I can't really ground you-but if you ever catch him doing this again, come to me," Grayson reproached.

"You got it," Jenna stated. _Yeah, that went better than I thought it would_, she thought to herself.

"Okay, now, who needs breakfast?" Grayson asked.

"I'm getting cereal," Elena said and went to do so.

"I'm just gonna have toast," Jenna chimed in, grabbing a slice of toast and putting it in the toaster.

"I'm not hungry," Jeremy muttered. Grayson got his own breakfast, which was a combination of toast and cereal and they all ate quickly before heading out the door. Minutes later, in the front lawn of Mystic Falls High, Bonnie and Caroline were talking.

"So, have you talked to Miss Sheila about how you've been feeling?" Caroline queried.

"A little bit, but she started talking about us being witches again and I got a little uncomfortable. I mean, I don't wanna be a witch! They're like ugly and stuff," Bonnie replied.

"Not always. I mean, look at Samantha and Sabrina," Caroline pointed out.

"Those were comedies. And anyways, I was watching t.v. last night and I said 'I bet it's those two commercials'. And sure enough two Geico commercials play back-to-back," Bonnie reminded.

"Geico commercials play on a constant loop," Caroline dismissed. Before Bonnie could answer, Elena came up to them.

"Hey, guys. What are we talking about?" she asked.

"The possibility of Bonnie being an actual witch," Caroline replied.

"Oh, yeah. You were gonna talk to your grams. What'd she say?" Elena wondered.

"That I'm at the age bracket where witch powers emerge," Bonnie replied. "And add this to the mix and stir, I've been obsessed with the numbers, 8, 14, and 22. So, what does that mean?" she wondered.

"That we should play the lottery or you've been watching too much football," Elena joked as they headed for the school's entrance.

"Speaking of football…Elena, are you **sure** you wanna try out for cheerleading this year? I mean, your mom just died and you're still grieving and-" Caroline began to say.

"Car, I know you're worried about me, and I love you for it, but yes I'm sure. There's only two spots open this year and I wanna be one of them," Elena interrupted. Just then, they ran into Matt.

"Hey," Matt greeted.

"Hi," Elena acknowledged.

"I think we better-" Bonnie began.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. The girls walked off.

"How you've been?" Elena asked.

"Good. Better than you, I think," Matt replied.

"Matt, I'm so sorry. I know I strung you along and-" Elena began.

"You didn't string me along. Maybe you were confused about what you wanted for a while, but in the long run, I think you did what was best for both of us," Matt interrupted. "And besides…I noticed that one of the new girls was kind of looking at me, and I've been kind of wondering about her myself, so…" Matt shrugged and then looked at her with some embarrassment. Yeah, the breakup had been amiable, but she probably didn't want to hear about him being interested in another girl.

"Oh, that's great! You should **totally** go for it," Elena encouraged. "Truth is, I was kind of into Stefan," she admitted.

"As you told me, go for it," he told her. they laughed and presently, Stefan, Casey, Sam, and Anna walked up.

"I think I'll leave you to talk," he said and then went to catch up with Tyler, whom he had just seen walking up through the parking lot, carrying a football.

"Yo, man. What's up?" Tyler asked.

"Ready for tryouts?" Matt asked.

"Oh, yeah," Tyler answered, throwing the football towards his friend. Meanwhile, Casey, Sam, and Anna had headed in, leaving Stefan and Elena alone.

"Hey. You're looking better," he noted.

"Yeah. I guess you heard about the accident," she said. _Figures. The news is so big, even the newcomers know about it_, she thought to herself.

"Actually, my brother, our friends, and I were heading that way when we heard the accident. I **am** sorry we couldn't save your mother, but she died instantly," Stefan responded.

"Oh, my gosh. You-**you** saved us?" Elena gasped. "My-my father said that-it was a new family in town that saved us-but I didn't think-" the girl's voice trailed off. _Oh, my gosh. I don't believe this. I can't-__**Stefan**__ saved me?_ she thought to herself.

"I'm sorry for dumping this on you. I didn't mean to," Stefan apologized.

"No. No, it's fine. Just give me a few minutes to process this," Elena said. _Whoa. This is really heavy_, she thought to herself. Meanwhile, Tyler and Matt were having their own conversation as they tossed Tyler's football to one another.

"So, who do you think will join the team this year?" Matt wondered.

"Don't know. Depends on Tanner," Tyler responded.

"Speaking of Tanner…you think we should tell someone what's been happening?" Matt questioned. Tyler shook his head as he caught the ball.

"No way, man. We're on a winning streak and he hasn't been that bad this year. It'll blow over," he responded, tossing the ball back to Matt.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Matt agreed as he caught the ball. Then, the two switched positions, and Matt glanced at Elena and Stefan.

"You okay, man?" Tyler questioned, catching the action.

"Yeah. We talked and even though it hurts, I think in the long run, it's for the best if she doesn't feel the way same way for me as I do for her," Matt answered, throwing the ball back.

"That sucks," Tyler commented, catching it.

"Tell me about it," Matt agreed with a rueful laugh. The two boys got into position for a pass.

"Go long," Tyler said, rearing back an arm. Matt did as his friend requested. Tyler threw the ball, and then his eyes widened. His throw had gone wide and was about to hit the new boy in the back of the head! "Hey! Heads up!" he shouted warningly, though he was sure there was no way the other boy could get out of the way in time. To his surprise, the boy turned around deftly caught it. Elena let out a surprised laugh as Tyler and Matt came running up.

"Hey, I'm sorry, man. We were just practicing some throws, and I didn't think I was in a bad position before I threw it," Tyler apologized.

"It's totally cool," Stefan assured, not letting on that he had heard their previous conversation about the coach. Then his eyes clouded as he got their scents. Matt's was a bit Earthy, but normal for a human. Tyler's however was like lead with the faint scent of canine that was indicative of all those who carried the werewolf gene. Plus there was the same smell of Power that Caroline and Elena had. But the vampire couldn't pin down the smell.

"Hey, didn't you guys say you had lost a wide receiver?" Elena queried.

"Yeah, we did. Kyle Monroe moved earlier this year," Matt replied.

"Hey, maybe you should try out," Tyler suggested.

"Well…" Stefan hesitated.

"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Matt agreed enthusiastically. "Though I gotta warn you, Coach Tanner's kind of intense," he added.

"Tanner? As in the history teacher?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah," Tyler and Matt nodded. Just then warning bell rang, and they all headed in. After homeroom, they went to their history class. As Mr. Tanner lectured, Elena took notes, but also glanced at Stefan.

"By the way, I bet you'd look really hot in a jersey," she whispered. Stefan laughed softly.

"So, you don't really care how I play, just as long as I look good?" he teased in the same tone.

"Oh, I care," she replied.

"Pearl Harbor?" Mr. Tanner asked.

"Well, I bet you'd look hot in a cheerleader uniform," Stefan told her.

"I know **I** do," Casey said from behind Stefan, letting them know she had been eavesdropping.

"Not how I wanna picture you, Case," Stefan stated and Casey and Elena laughed softly.

"Miss Gilbert?" Mr. Tanner queried.

"Hmm?" Elena asked, trying to remember what the question was.

"Pearl Harbor," Mr. Tanner prompted.

"Oh, uh-" Elena's brow furrowed as she tried to remember the date.

"December 7, 1941," Stefan responded.

"Thank you, **Miss Gilbert**," Mr. Tanner emphasized and the class laughed.  
"Any time," Stefan answered confidently.

"Very well. The Fall of the Berlin Wall," Mr. Tanner continued.

"1989. I'm good with dates…Sir," Stefan told him.

"Are you? How good?" the teacher questioned. "Keep it to the year." Stefan nodded in agreement as Casey leaned back in her chair. This was going to be good.

"Civil Rights Act."

"1964."

"John F. Kennedy assassination."

"1963."

"Martin Luther King."

"'68."

"Lincoln." As this was going on, the class watched as the history teacher continued to walk towards Stefan's desk, each student feeling the same disdain and disgust at the man's superior attitude.

"1865."

"Roe Vs. Wade."

"1973."

"Brown Vs. Board."

"1954."

"The Battle Of Gettysburg." Stefan made a show of thinking.

"1863." Finally, Mr. Tanner stopped in front of Stefan's desk and smiled meanly.

"Korean War." Stefan had to fight the urge to smirk. Oh, please. He knew that one down pat. After all, he had fought in the Korean War.

"1950 to 1953."

"Ha! It ended in '5**2**!" Tanner chuckled as he headed back to the front of the classroom. He had finally got him.

"Actually Sir, my brother's right. It ended in '53," Casey spoke up. _After all, you don't forget a war you fought in_, she thought to herself. Mr. Tanner turned around and stared as both Stefan and Casey nodded confidently.

"Look it up…Somebody!" he barked. Immediately, the students checked their phones and books as the two siblings waited. "Quickly!" Tanner's eyes narrowed as Casey leaned back in her chair as if she didn't have a care in the world. _Just wait until her brother's proven wrong. That'll show the little upstart to treat me and this class with disrespect_, he thought to himself.

"It was…1953," a boy announced with a slight laugh after checking the date on his phone. Tanner's face became annoyed as the students laughed and clapped.

"Way to go, Brother," Casey said, clapping Stefan on his right shoulder. The bell rang and they all headed out.

"So, how'd you know all of that?" Elena wondered, trying to keep from sounding too amazed.

"Years and years of crossword puzzles. They're kind of like my hobby," Stefan replied.

"Yeah, my brother's a geek that way," Casey teased, resulting in a punch from her brother as Bonnie and Caroline came up. Then, a scent Stefan hadn't smelled in a long time reached his nostrils. It was one of Power. Elena's scent was like her father's: wood and smoke, while Caroline smelled like a cross between roses and jasmine intermingled with lead. Bonnie's scent was all Earthy, just like Emily's and he could smell the crackle of awakening Power. _Well, she's about the right age for the powers to make themselves known_, he thought to himself. Plus, she like Tyler, Elena, and Caroline had that indistinguishable smell of Power. What was **that**? _Man, that is going to drive me nuts_, he thought to himself.

"Well, it's about time **someone** put Tanner in his place," Bonnie commented, as she subtly watched as Elena shot Stefan shy glances.

"Yeah, he's such an ass," Caroline agreed.

"But, he **does** know how to strategize for a football game," Elena stated.

"Okay, now I'm wondering if I should even try out," Stefan commented and the girls laughed.

"Don't let us scare you. The team's great," Elena stated as Bonnie pulled a notebook from her backpack, ripped out a piece of paper, and scribbled something down.

"Okay, this is ridiculous. As one of Elena's best friends, I'm taking the plunge for her," she declared. "This is her number. Give her a call sometime," she continued, holding the paper out. Stefan took the paper, his hand brushing against hers and suddenly, Bonnie froze. Before she knew what was happening, she was bombarded with images of Stefan in different time periods, and sensations from the boy. "Wha-wha-?" she stammered. What had that been all about?

"You okay?" Stefan asked, not letting on that he had also felt the jolt of power. _She's __**definitely**__ coming into her powers_, he realized. Hopefully, her situation wasn't like Casey's friend Kendra.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Bonnie replied. _This is too weird! What is going on?_ she wondered. Maybe she needed to talk to her grandmother after all. "Um-I'll see you guys later," she said and then went on her way. Minutes later, Casey and Elena were at cheerleading tryouts while Stefan was on the football field. Caroline led the girls in a routine and watched Elena and Casey. _Okay, Elena's doing good. You wouldn't even think she's going through hell right now and Casey's…wow_, she thought to herself. She had never seen anyone nail every move with such perfection before. It was almost as if she had studied them extensively beforehand. But that was impossible…wasn't it? Meanwhile, Mr. Tanner was watching the players through critical eyes. His eyes darkened as he watched Tyler fumble a play.

"Mr. Lockwood, is there anything you're good at?! Because it isn't history and it sure as hell isn't defending the ball!" he shouted angrily.

"Yes, Coach," Tyler responded tightly and Stefan could feel his fangs itching to break free. _Okay, calm down_, he reminded himself. The last thing any of them needed was for him to lose his temper and vamp out right in front of everyone. But it was hard. Tanner just brought out that side of him. As practice continued, Tyler tried to make sure that he did every move perfectly. The last thing any of them needed was Tanner losing his temper and lashing out. However, soon, he stumbled as he caught a pass and fell to the ground. With a growl of anger, Kevin Tanner strode towards Lockwood. He'd show this little punk a thing or two.

"You okay?" Stefan asked, helping Tyler to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tyler replied.

"Fine? You call fumbling the easiest play ever fine!?" Tanner asked, approaching them, the loud question causing everyone to turn and stare.

"Coach, it was an accident," Matt stated, coming to stand in front of his friend protectively. Tanner let out a scoff and headed for the other boy.

"Back off," Tyler warned. _I'm not taking this crap again_, he thought to himself. He was so sick of Tanner's power games.

"Don't you talk to me that way. All you had to do was be in position and catch the freaking ball! You stupid, lousy-"

"I said, 'Back off'!" Everyone screamed in surprise as a burst of fire lunged towards Tanner. _What in the world?_ Stefan wondered. Was Tyler a warlock? It didn't make sense though. He hadn't smelled any Power radiating from him. Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena looked at each other and then ran towards the player.

"Tyler, calm down," Elena said, getting in front of the boy. His eyes smoldered and she could see the intense anger in them. "Ty, hey. Look at me." He looked at the girl. "Focus." He turned to her and she placed her hands on his shoulders. "I know how you feel, but you need to calm down." Tyler let out a sigh and the students murmured as the flames died down. The boy looked at his friend.

"Did I just-"

"Yeah…you did." Tyler let out a surprised breath as he ran his fingers through his hair.


	5. Friday Night Bites Part 2

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. The psychic powers comes from L.J. Smith's Dark Visions Trilogy. I only own the new spin on things.

In order to save face, Tanner continued practice, but he couldn't deny to himself that Tyler's outburst had freaked him out. What had just happened? It didn't make sense. As they continued the drills, Tyler's mind raced. He couldn't believe his pyro-kinesis had flared up. He hadn't had that ability since high school had started. Could it be like Caroline had said? Their powers were coming back? And what about that image of them all working together and the fact that a jolt of power had caused Elena to wake up from her coma? Those events had to mean **something**. But what? What could they possibly mean? Tyler's brows furrowed in confusion. It was pretty strange all right. _Could it be possible? Are we really coming back?_ he thought to himself. He remembered their connection-how close they had all been. He had never told anybody, but he had missed that after his father had decided to groom him to take his place in high society. Tyler let out a sigh and he ran his fingers through his hair. He wasn't sure what to do. If the Strikers really **were** back…Tyler let a small grin grace his features. That'd be really cool. _We were all so close when we were the Strikers. We were untouchable-inseparable-I want that back_, he thought. He really missed that feeling. He missed knowing people had his back and them knowing that he had their back. But how could it be possible? The Powers had diminished…right? But if a few minutes ago was any indicator, the Powers were coming back. _I could get my team back_, he thought to himself. And that's what they had all been: a team. Him, Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie. No one could touch them because of their connection. Then he had been taken away from them and his Powers had faded as had theirs. But now…it was as if they were coming back for some reason. Tyler mentally shook himself and focused on practice. Minutes later, the practice was over and the football players took a knee as the cheerleaders gathered around Caroline.

"Okay girls, as you know, there are only two spots open this year, and after much deliberation, I have made my decision," Caroline declared.

"Don't hold us in suspense, Caroline. Just get it over with," Tiki Jones snapped. Tiki was African-American girl with long black hair and hazel eyes. Caroline rolled her eyes. _I really hate having to put up with her_, she thought to herself.

"Well, let me be the first to welcome back our cheer captain, Elena Gilbert," Caroline declared and everyone clapped.

"Congratulations," a cheerleader said.

"Welcome back, Elena," another cheerleader stated. Elena grinned. It felt good to be back. And she couldn't believe that Caroline had given her old position back.

"And for the second girl?" the first cheerleader questioned.

"Well, if Elena doesn't mind me continuing-" Caroline stated.

"Not at all," Elena grinned.

"The next open spot goes to-" Caroline began.

"Caroline, don't drag it out. we all know it's going to go to Stacey Bradshaw," Tiki interrupted. Stacey Bradshaw-a Caucasian girl with wavy auburn hair-smiled smugly and stood up straighter. Finally, she was on the cheerleading squad where she belonged. And it was all thanks to her best friend, Tiki. Elena and Caroline looked at each other and shook their heads in unison. Stacey had performed just like always: lackluster at best. And she had stumbled during the double cartwheel.

"Actually Tiki, I was going to say Casey Salvatore," Caroline answered.

"That's what I would've said," Elena agreed. Despite Tiki and Stacey's exclamations, the girls crowded around Elena and Casey, giving them their congratulations.

"And my first order of business as cheer captain is to appoint Caroline Forbes as co-captain," Elena announced.

"What!? Are you serious!?" Caroline asked in surprise amidst the girls' congratulations.

"Yes. I had been thinking about it a long time now and I had every intention of doing so earlier," Elena responded.

"Oh, my gosh! Thank you!" Caroline gasped, hugging her. Almost immediately, Elena's mind was filled with a ray of gold light and a smile. The girl let out fond laugh. She remembered that image from when she was younger: it meant that Caroline was extremely happy. From across the field, Stefan grinned, having heard everything that had happened. _All right. Way to go, Sister_, he thought to himself. He knew she had been extremely bored with her last cover, and this was her way of having some fun.

"All right, a lot of you did pretty good, but there's only one spot open, and that spot goes to Stefan Salvatore," Coach Tanner told them. Matt and Tyler cheered loudly while other boys groaned. Having had heard the announcement, Casey grinned broadly.

"Congratulations, man," Matt said.

"Thanks," Stefan stated.

"Okay, that's enough chatter, ladies. Hit the showers and be ready to play tomorrow night," Coach Tanner barked and after Casey and Stefan got their uniforms, they dispersed.

"So Elena, do you want to go to the Grill and celebrate?" Caroline asked.

"I wish I could, but Dad discovered Jeremy's stash of pot and he found out that I knew about it and didn't tell him, so I'm grounded for a week," Elena replied. Caroline let out a groan of annoyance.

"Lame," she complained.

"I know," her friend agreed. After they were dismissed, Stefan and Casey left their places on the field and walked over to one another.

"Way to go, Brother," Casey congratulated.

"You too, Sister," Stefan responded.

"You know, we **really** oughtta stop spying on each other," Casey stated, referring to their inclination for honing their hearing towards one another when in the same place.

"I will, when you will," Stefan told her. Casey laughed.

"Right. Like **that**'**s** gonna happen," she answered and they both laughed. Meanwhile, Jeremy had gone to the section of the school known as the "Stoner Pit" and walked up to Vicki.

"Hey, man," she greeted.

"Hey," he acknowledged.

"You got any good stuff?" she questioned.

"Yeah, I scored. For you and myself," he told her, handing her some pills.

"You sound like you need it."

"Yeah. Dad found my pot stash and now I'm grounded."

"Bummer." With that, they both took the pills. Jeremy let the feeling of numbness wash over him. He didn't want to feel anything. Even before his mom's death, he had been looking for a way to forget all the crap that was happening in his life: the pressure of being Elena Gilbert's younger brother. Everyone expected him to be perfect and a golden boy. _What a joke_, he thought to himself with a snort. Vicki welcomed the numbness that came. She hated being looked upon as a screw up while Matt was the golden boy that everyone doted on. Not that she hated Matt. She could **never** hate Matty. But she was sick of everyone judging her. Presently, they heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Elena.

"What do you want?" Jeremy demanded.

"Oh, my gosh! Are you high?!" his sister asked in displeasure.

"Oh, what's the matter, Elena? Afraid your prom queen status will be ruined?" he mocked and everyone except Vicki laughed. _I don't believe this! How could he be so stupid?_ Elena wondered. The only reason she hadn't told their parents about the pot was because she had thought that was all he was doing. If she had known he was doing anything harder, she would've **definitely** told them.

"We're going home…now! We're grounded, remember?" she responded, grabbing his arm. Jeremy tried to break Elena's grasp, but found that he couldn't. Jeremy let out a huff.

"Why don't you just go away and bug your homecoming court?" he sneered.

"Hey, don't talk to me that way," his sister snapped.

"Jer, why don't you just go? There's no need to make her even madder," Vicki suggested.

"Don't think I'm ignoring this. I don't know who gave you guys the drugs, but I don't want you hanging around each other if this is all you're gonna do," Elena snapped. Vicki looked at the ground. Elena had every right to be upset, but it didn't make her feel any less worse. _Well, at least she's not blaming me_, she thought to herself. With a sigh of disgust, Elena pulled Jeremy away and headed for her car. While this was going on, Stefan and Casey headed for the front of the school, where Damon had agreed to pick them up.

"Okay, I vote that we get our own cars soon," Casey said.

"Yeah, me too," Stefan agreed. Then, they both heard it: Elena yelling at Jeremy.

"I don't believe this! I was lenient about the pot! But this-Jer, how could you be so stupid?!" she demanded.

"Oh, come off it!" her brother grumbled. Before she could respond, their father's van was seen and they got in and the man drove off.

"Yikes. That didn't sound good," Casey commented.

"Not good at all," Stefan agreed. Then, they dropped their conversation as their brother's Dodge Viper appeared.

"Thanks," the younger two chorused.

"No problem. Just choose your cars soon," came the response. Casey rolled her eyes while she and her brother got in. Meanwhile, Jenna was on a break at Mystic Falls Community College and talking to a friend, Andrea Peters.

"So, how are you holding up?" Andrea asked.

"Not well. I miss her. Can't believe she's gone," Jenna replied with a sigh. Andrea hugged her friend sympathetically. Then, "Isn't that Logan Fells, the news guy?" Jenna turned to see Logan Fell, the local anchorman.

"Great. The "Scum" Fell's landed," she groaned.

"Jenna," Logan said nervously. "I…just wanted to offer my condolences. I know how close you and Miranda were," he continued.

"Thank you," Jenna said coolly. Really? He expected her to just forgive him for everything he had done? Who was he kidding? She couldn't just forgive him!

"Okay, you offered your sympathies. Move along," Andrea said, moving in front of Jenna protectively. Okay, so she didn't really know their history, but it was obvious from her friend's body language that she didn't really want to talk.

"Well, wait. So, I can assume that you're here for good. I mean, you've transferred your credits here," Logan stated.

"And the fact that you've looked that up just proves to me that I shouldn't have anything to do with you," Jenna responded and she and Andrea turned away.

"Hey, wait! I know I screwed up before, but…I wanna make it right," he told her.

"Forget it, Logan. I fled town because of you. **Fled**. And I'm not gonna let you run me out again," she snapped and then the two girls headed off. Logan blew out a breath. _I don't believe this. She's not even going to let me try to explain?_ he wondered. How was that fair? Well, he'd just have to keep trying until he convinced her that he had changed. With that, he went to his car, unlocked it, got in, and drove away from the campus.


	6. Friday Night Bites Part 3

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. The psychic angle is inspired by L.J. Smith's Dark Visions Trilogy. I only own the new spin on things. I use some lines from the actual episode as well as a cheer from a deleted scene from "Bloodlines" in Season 1.

After arriving back at the Salvatore boarding house, Stefan and Casey told the others what had happened at practice.

"It sounds like this coach of theirs has a pretty short temper," Damon mused. _I'm not sure if I want Stefan and Casey around that_, he thought to himself. Sure they could take care of themselves, but they were his younger siblings. It was his duty to look after them. Though he spoke casually, the others could smell the anger radiating from him and knew it was taking all of his energy for him to not vamp out.

"Yeah, but I'm more interested in this burst of power from the Lockwood boy. He's not a warlock, is he?" Stefan asked.

"As far as I know, the Lockwoods don't have a history of witches or warlocks," Katherine replied.

"Oh, speaking of witches, I believe there's one at Mystic Falls High. I overheard Elena talking to her friends-whom I heard her addressing as Caroline and Bonnie-and I think Bonnie's just coming into her powers," Stefan reported.

"Interesting," mused Katherine.

"She smelled familiar-all Earthy-like Emily Bennett and Sheila Bennett," Stefan continued.

"Then this Bonnie must be a relation of some sort," Katherine surmised.

"Granddaughter," Casey said. They all looked at her. "I overheard them too and I heard Elena refer Sheila as Bonnie's grams," she continued with a shrug. Stefan rolled his eyes. Leave it to Casey not to mention something like this sooner.

"Well, if there are witches and werewolves here-" Damon began.

"Which we don't know for sure," Katherine interjected.

"We can assume that there are other vampires here," Damon finished.

"Which you should always assume," Pearl stated.

"Then we have to take precautions to protect those we care about," Casey continued.

"I'll go see how Zach's doing on vervain," Damon said. He then went to the room Zach had chosen for himself and knocked. The door opened to reveal the man.

"What is it?" Zach questioned.

"How are you doing on vervain?" Damon asked.

"I have plenty growing and I have given some to the Council who give it to their children at their discretion," Zach replied, coming out of his room.

"This sounds like something we should all hear," Damon commented.

"It **is**," Zach confirmed and Damon led him to the parlor. "As I was telling Uncle Damon, I have plenty of vervain and I have given some to the Council who give it to their children at their discretion," he continued.

"Who's on the Council these days?" Pearl wondered.

"Grayson Gilbert, myself, Mayor Richard Lockwood, his wife Carol, Sheriff Elizabeth Forbes, and Logan Fell," Zach told them.

"Anyone we would have to be especially careful around?" Anna wondered.

"I'd say the Lockwoods. Logan's…kind of…like a puppy; I'd guess you'd say. He's on the Council because he's a Fell, but for the most part, he's harmless," Zach replied.

"And the sheriff?" Pearl asked.

"She's a good person. But you have to remember: we all grew up a certain way, and only the Gilberts and Salvatores really know what happened back in 1864," Zach cautioned.

"We understand," the vampires chorused. And they did: all Mystic Falls knew was that vampires had tried to destroy the town and the Founding Families had saved it. However, Jonathan Gilbert had chronicled the truth about how other vampires and other supernatural creatures had come to Mystic Falls, intending to destroy the populous and Katherine and her friends had been trying to save Mystic Falls, but had been forced to leave. Katherine fingered the cameo necklace that allowed her to walk about in the day. Pearl and Anna had family rings that they had chosen for themselves, Damon, Stefan, Casey, and Sam had family rings: the Salvatore crest rings and a ring Sam's father had given him for his graduation. And Lexi had a gold heart necklace with red, blue, and green rhinestones adorning the edges on a silver chain. Lexi's daylight necklace had only been recently spelled thanks to a woman named Lucy Bennett.

"I just had a thought: if the Council's only giving vervain to people at their discretion and they don't think there's any danger…" Anna's voice trailed off.

"People may still be exposed," Casey finished. Stefan frowned thoughtfully.

"If the Bennett girl truly is a witch, she'll be fine since our powers don't work on other supernatural creatures," Katherine commented. Stefan made a half-committed noise of attentiveness and then headed for his bedroom.

"Where is-" Damon's question trailed off as the others shrugged. In his room, Stefan reached up on a shelf and then pulled down a black box. He then went back into the parlor, black box in hand. "What have you got there, Brother?" the older brother asked as the younger boy opened the box.

"A little insurance. I can put the vervain in this necklace and I can give it to Elena right before kickoff. That way, if there **are** any other vampires here, she'll be protected from their influence," Stefan replied.

"That's Mother's necklace," Casey breathed. The necklace was a tarnished gold/silver color with a curved design and a single red ruby. _It's as beautiful as I remember_, she thought to herself.

"Is it all right with you two if I give her this?" Stefan asked in concern.

"Of course," Damon replied.

"Don't ask me. I have no say," Casey responded at the same time.

"It's the twenty first century. Of course you have a say," Stefan reminded.

"But important family matters such as this-" Casey began.

"Require a unanimous decision," Stefan interrupted.

"Well, you have my vote," Damon told him. Stefan looked to Casey.

"I'm okay with it," Casey assured.

"Okay then," Stefan determined.

"I can put the vervain in. Just tell me how much," Zach offered.

"That would be appreciated," Stefan responded, taking the necklace out of the box. "I'd like to fill it up as much as it can be," he continued. Zach nodded and took the necklace and went off to the cellar, where he kept the vervain crop. Then, he opened the necklace and put in as much of the plant as he could before closing it. Then, he went back to the parlor and handed it to Stefan.

"It's all ready to go," he reported.

"Thank you, Zach," the vampire said. "I'll give it to her as soon as I can," he continued, placing the necklace back in the box.

"Sounds like a plan," Damon approved. He was about to say more when Katherine grabbed Damon's arm and tugged him backwards, heading for their room.

"Oh, and I think on **that** note, we better scram…unless you want to hear 'em go at it," Stefan chuckled with a groan.

"No thank you," everyone else chorused. Zach went off to his own room while Pearl, Anna, Stefan, and Casey did likewise. Once she was in her room, Casey changed into her cheerleader's uniform and twirled around happily. This was going to be **so** much fun! She really **did** look hot in this uniform. She grabbed her pom poms and twirled around. Then, she ran through the cheers Caroline and Elena had given her, making sure she had every line and every piece of choreography was down pat. In his own room, Stefan had slipped into his football jersey and was relishing the feel. _Wow. This feels really good. I haven't played since the 50s_, he thought to himself. Well, at least the game hadn't changed over the years. The same basic rules applied. Then, he grinned. This was going to be fun. Then, he got out of his jersey and slipped into sleeping attire, just as Casey did the same in her room. The next morning, Casey awoke, got dressed, gathered everything together, and then went out to the kitchen and headed for the refrigerator, where various bags of blood were kept. Casey grabbed a bag of O Positive, opened it, and then drank. As she did so, she heard footsteps and then turned around, trying to hide what she had been doing.

"You don't have to hide when you feed," Zach reminded.

"Force of habit. After we left Nora's, we spent some time traveling and mostly stayed in hotels," Casey explained.

"Hence the hiding," Zach realized and the girl nodded. Damon, Katherine, Stefan, Anna, Pearl, and Lexi came out and headed for the refrigerator, where they all got their preferred blood, opened the bags, and drank as Zach put some coffee on. "Now, if anyone wants coffee, tell me now before I put the vervain in," he requested.

"I'll take some," Casey stated.

"Me too," the others chorused. _Okay, then. No vervain this morning_, he thought as he and Casey pulled down mugs. A few minutes later the coffee was ready and they each got a cup.

"Where do you put the liquid vervain?" Damon asked.

"It's by the coffee pot," Zach answered.

"Go ahead and put it in your coffee," Damon told him.

"Are you sure?" Zach queried.

"Yeah. We want to make sure you're protected," Stefan responded. Zach nodded and then put the vervain in his coffee.

"Now Zach, remember: just because we're here doesn't mean you have to change any of your habits or routines. It should always be business as usual," Casey stated.

"Yeah. This is your home," Stefan reminded.

"Thank you, Uncle," Zach said. Then, Casey, Stefan, and Anna finished what they were doing, went to their rooms, grabbed their things which for Stefan included the box with their mother's necklace, and then went to the garage and opened the garage door so that they could see the driveway. Once there, Stefan went to his dark red 1963 Porsche 356B Karmann Coupe and Casey went to her 1967 black Chevy Impala.

"Anna, would you like a ride?" Stefan offered.

"Thanks," Anna responded and they got in the car.

"Nice," Sam breathed, staring at the Impala. "Can I drive?" he asked.

"Nope," Casey answered and everyone laughed at his crestfallen look as the two got into the other car. The two vampires started their respective cars and started down the road. Within minutes, they reached Mystic Falls High. As they got out of their cars, Stefan and Casey could feel the stares of the other students.

"I think our cars are a hit, Brother," Casey murmured and Stefan laughed. Sam placed an arm around Casey's shoulders and they walked in together as Stefan kept a subtle eye on Anna as they walked in.

"Stefan, I'm perfectly fine," Anna reminded him in a tone only the vampires could hear.

"My apologies, Miss Huong. It is merely a force of habit," Stefan apologized in the same voice and Casey rolled her eyes. Stefan had always been a gentleman and as a vampire that had been magnified. Sam placed a kiss on her neck and she laughed. Then, they went into homeroom, where Casey let out a smile. This was going to be a good day. She could feel it. Then, she made herself busy as other students did the same. When they got to history, they all took their seats. As they did so, Mr. Tanner stared at the class through narrow eyes as he lectured. He was so sick of teaching to kids who didn't give a damn about their education. But he had to put up with it until he could save up enough money to retire and then move out of Mystic Falls and be done with everyone. As the day progressed, Casey could hardly contain her excitement. She couldn't wait until tonight. She and Stefan would have a wonderful time. They had always enjoyed cheerleading and football respectively. And plus, she had always liked the way she had looked in a cheerleader's uniform. At lunch, Casey, Stefan, Anna, and Sam, met up with Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, and Matt.

"So Stefan, you think you'll be ready for the game tonight?" Matt asked in between bites.

"Oh, yeah," Stefan assured.

"That's great. Cause the team we're playing tonight's really tough and we're gonna need all the help we can get," Tyler stated, his mouth full.

"Ty, chew, swallow, and then talk," Elena reminded and Casey chuckled. Tyler swallowed and then repeated what he said.

"Don't worry. We'll knock 'em dead," Stefan assured.

"Cocky much?" Caroline asked.

"Very much," Stefan replied and Casey rolled her eyes. That was her brother. A few minutes later, the bell rang and they grabbed their tray and walked out of the cafeteria. The rest of the day passed in a blur until it was time for the game. Elena walked up to Stefan and Casey.

"Well, don't you look hot in your jersey?" Elena asked.

"And you're certainly looking ravishing in that cheerleader's uniform," Stefan told her.

"And what about me, Brother? What do you say?" Casey queried, twirling around as if modeling for him.

"I plead the Fifth, Sister," Stefan responded and Elena laughed at the mock pout that appeared on the girl's face.

"Oooh! There's Caroline!" Casey exclaimed and ran to the girl.

"Yeah, she fits right in," Elena joked and she and Stefan laughed.

"Listen, I hope you don't think this is too soon or weird, but I, uh-wanted you to have this-kind of a good luck charm kind of a thing," he said, pulling the box out of his pocket and then opening it. The girl gasped when she saw the necklace.

"Oh, my gosh! It's beautiful," she breathed, taking the necklace out of the box.

"It belonged to my mother and she gave it to me shortly before she passed. And she told me that when I found the girl I was meant to give it to, I would know," he told her.

"And you believe that's me?"

"I do."

"I would be honored." Then a strong scent hit her nostrils. "Is that rose that I smell?"

"No, it's an old family herb. Nice, huh?" As Stefan said this, Elena undid the clasp, pulled back her hair, and Stefan refastened the chain, letting his hands rest on her shoulders. "Perfect," he said. As soon as the necklace was in place, the colors shone brilliantly before returning to normal. Seeing this, Stefan blinked in confusion. What did **that** mean? Elena turned around, unaware of what had just happened.

"Well, it's almost kickoff time, so I will see **you** later," she told him and then went off to join the other cheerleaders and he went off to join the team. Some minutes later, Sam, Anna, Pearl, Lexi, Katherine, and Damon arrived at Mystic Falls High in two separate cars. Then, they went to the bleachers.

"Katherine, why are you wearing sunglasses?" Damon wondered.

"Because I don't think Mystic Falls is quite ready to encounter someone who looks like Elena Gilbert," Katherine replied.

"Good point," Damon agreed. Then, Coach Tanner came out and began making his speech.

"…We are Timberwolves and we are hungry!" the man finished, resulting in a large roar from the crowd. Minutes later, the game began and Damon, Katherine, Pearl, Anna, Sam, and Lexi found themselves getting immersed in the sport as they watched.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! Go, go, go, go, go!" The cries ended in a groan as the other team managed block the next play and run with the ball. On the sidelines, Tanner watched through narrow eyes. This was not what he wanted to see. He wanted the team to win, not hand their opponents a victory on a silver platter. He turned his attention to the field and watched the Salvatore boy. Maybe he could turn the game around. _Come on, boy. Get it done_, he thought to himself. He'd take victory from anyone at this point.

"Victory! Victory! That's our high! Vi-ct-o-r-y!" the cheerleaders yelled. On the field, Stefan moved in position for another play. _Okay, just remember: if someone goes for a hit or block, control it so that they don't get hurt_, he thought to himself. He had fed sufficiently before coming tonight, so he'd be fine, but he still needed to be careful when it came to crashing into humans. The ball was snapped and Stefan ran into position, intending to catch it. As he did so, another boy from the other team also ran into position with the intention of catching it. Stefan subtly looked from one boy to another. At the speed they were going, if they ran into him, they'd be seriously hurt. Making a quick decision, Stefan stumbled over a patch of grass, allowing the other team to capture the ball. On the sidelines, Tanner let out a growl of frustration. _That damn kid! He screwed up!_ he thought to himself. Stefan picked himself up and jogged to a new position.

"Salvatore! You're out! Take the bench!" Tanner shouted. Stefan did as he was told.

"Is it just me or is the coach wound a bit tight?" Katherine questioned.

"It's not just you," Damon replied.

"Stefan did the right thing though. One of those boys could've gotten hurt if they had run into him," Pearl commented and her Damon nodded. Tanner watched the other players through narrowed eyes. They'd better not screw this up. Just then, a group of players crashed into each other as they each tried to catch the ball. One of the players, slid on the grass, scraping a leg on the dirt underneath his uniform. The vampires watching let out a small hiss as the scent hit their nostrils.

"Stefan fed enough, right?" Katherine checked.

"I think so, yes," Damon replied. Stefan could feel the bloodlust in his veins rising and struggled to hold it back. He had made sure to feed properly beforehand, but this was too much. He could smell the blood from one of the players and from what he could tell, it was dripping down his leg. _I gotta-I gotta get outta here_, he realized. As subtly as he could, Stefan stood up and headed for the back of the bleachers.

"I think I better go check on him," Damon murmured, catching the action.

"Good idea," Katherine agreed and he stood up and went in the same direction as his brother. What they didn't know was that Tanner had also seen Stefan slip towards the back of the bleachers. _Now, where does he think __**he's**__ going?_ the man wondered, following Stefan. He'd show the boy a thing or two. Behind the bleachers, Stefan steadied his breathing. He was okay now that the guy's blood wasn't invading his senses.

"Salvatore!" Stefan turned around at the sound of Tanner's angry voice and even before he could register what was happening, the man had approached him and shoved him.

"Wha-Coach?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"You had one job, Salvatore! Keep the ball away from the other team! But you're so stupid, you can't even do that, can you?" Tanner yelled, clenching a fist and slugging him in the jaw.

"What, are you crazy?" Stefan asked as Tanner shook his fist in pain. Who did this stupid human think he was?

"I have no use for players who can't do their jobs," Tanner sneered, punching Stefan again.

"I'd stop doing that if I were you. For one thing, you're about to break your hand," Stefan stated. And for another, he could feel his temper about to snap. And if that happened…well, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop himself from attacking. Tanner growled and lunged at Stefan, who just dodged the attack, causing Tanner to stumble. The man's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. He'd take care of this insolent brat if it was the last thing he did. With that, he lunged again and Stefan stepped further back as the history teacher/football coach tried to regain his balance.

"Trust me, you do **not** want to mess with me," Stefan warned, letting a growl creep into his voice. He hadn't been called the Ripper in the sixties for nothing. Tanner merely went for the boy again, this time successfully knocking him back. Stefan's eyes flashed. Okay, enough was enough. With a snarl and lightning speed, Stefan grabbed Tanner and sank his fangs into the man's neck, tearing the flesh. The blood coursed through Stefan's body and his eyes darkened with ecstasy. Then, he was pushed away.

"That's enough, Stefan!" Damon snapped as he supported the man. He had seen the whole thing and could understand why his brother had attacked but he didn't need to kill the guy. Stefan growled angrily, and tried to go for Tanner again, only to have Damon push him back. "Control yourself," he snapped and Stefan let out a ragged breath as he pushed the bloodlust back down until his features had returned to normal.

"Is he alive?" the younger vampire asked.

"Barely. You got him good, Brother," Damon replied and then ripped his wrist with his teeth and placed the flowing blood in the man's mouth. They had to make sure this guy healed so that there weren't any questions. The man muttered and his eyes started to flutter open.

"You won't remember getting bit," Damon said, letting his pupils dilate.

"I won't remember getting bit," the man murmured compliantly. As soon as he saw the wound starting to heal, Damon sat Tanner down and stepped back as Stefan quickly wiped his face and tried to clean his jersey as best as he could.

"Yeah, I don't think that's gonna work, Brother," Damon stated. Back at the game, Stefan and Tanner's absences had been noted by everyone else. Matt glanced at Tyler.

"I don't like this," Matt stated.

"Me neither. I saw Stefan go behind the bleachers," Tyler replied. As one, they headed towards the indicated direction, their friends at their heels. Hearing footsteps, Stefan looked at Damon in alarm and the older boy placed a comforting hand on his brother's shoulder.

"What happened?" Matt asked, noting the blood on Stefan's chin and jersey.

"He attacked me and I fell. Damon came and stopped him," Stefan lied.

"I'm sick of his crap. I'm calling the cops," Tyler stated and went back to the school building, where he found a payphone and dialed the sheriff's department. When he got through, he gave the information and minutes later, a group of police cars were there. Bonnie couldn't help but stare. Three numbers stood out like beacons. On one of the buildings was a spray-painted 8, one of the cars was number 14, and one of the deputies had the number 22 stitched onto his shoulder sleeve. _What? What's going on?_ Bonnie wondered. Sheriff Forbes listened intently as the football player told her what had happened. He was one of the new boys in town: Zach Salvatore's nephew, Stefan.

"You say he attacked you?" she questioned, looking at the blood on his jaw. By this time, Tanner had recovered and was staring at them belligerently. He couldn't believe this was happening. How could Sheriff Forbes be so stupid?

"Yeah. He was upset at my performance during the game," Stefan replied.

"Sheriff, he's being doing this since we were freshmen. We've just-we're all too scared to do anything about it," Tyler admitted.

"Well, it'll never happen again. I promise you that," Sheriff Forbes replied.

"This is crazy! I didn't do anything wrong, Sheriff!" Tanner replied.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…" As the man was led away, Bonnie walked back to Elena and Caroline.

"Bonnie…the numbers," Elena said hesitantly.

"I saw them too," Bonnie confirmed. "What's going on? I don't wanna be a witch," she hissed.

"Come on. Let's get out of here," Caroline suggested and they all left, each of them trying to put the events out of their heads.


	7. Family Ties Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Okay so sorry for forgetting the shout outs last time. Here they are now.

Dark-Supernatural-Angel (ch 1: Hey, like I said in in my PM, I know you're a Delena fan so you don't feel like you have to read if you don't want to.

Long Live BRUCAS (ch 3, 6): Thank you. Yep. Not at all. Here's more. Yep. The numbers were just like in the show, Bonnie was obsessed with them and then they showed up where the police were.

DISCLAIMER

Takes place a few weeks after "Friday Night Bites" and by this time Lexi and Pearl have met Elena and her friends, though Katherine has been keeping a low profile. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. The Strikers angle comes from L.J. Smith's Dark Visions. I only own the new take on things. I use some lines from the actual episode.

Elena headed up the school stairs with a smile on her face. She was finally feeling good again. She still missed Mom, but she wasn't feeling so overwhelmed. And she was glad that she and Matt had talked about what had happened and that they were both moving on to other people.

"Elena!" With a squeal, Caroline rushed to her friend, wrapping her in a hug. Instantly, Elena was covered by the image of a ray of gold light and a smile.

"Someone's happy this morning," Elena commented.

"When I woke up this morning, I just knew today was going to be a good day. I could feel it," Caroline replied.

"You mean like "feel it" feel it?" Elena queried.

"Yep," Caroline confirmed.

"Well, your feelings have never been wrong before," Elena stated and they walked off together. Meanwhile, Matt and Anna were talking by Matt's locker.

"You know, I never knew watching a documentary could be so informative," Matt commented.

"Well, that's usually why they're called documentaries," Anna told him.

"Yeah, I know, but still…I didn't expect to get into a program about architectural design," Matt responded.

"And tonight, I'll watch one of **your** favorite programs," Anna promised.

"Really?" Matt asked.

"That was the deal: you watch mine, I watch yours," Anna confirmed.

"Great," Matt grinned. "Oh before I forget, would like to come to the Founder's Day party with me this weekend? I know it sounds kind of lame, but-" he continued a bit hesitantly.

"It doesn't sound lame at all. I'd love to go with you," Anna replied. Matt grinned in relief. He had been so nervous about asking her! While all this was going on, Bonnie was at her locker in her own little world, trying to figure out what to do about the Powers she seemed to be acquiring. She didn't want to be a witch, but it would appear that she was one anyway. _This sucks! I don't wanna be evil and ugly! I just wanna survive high school_, she thought to herself. And on top of that, she had to figure out what to do about the Founder's Party. She didn't have a date and all of her friends did. What she didn't know was that Caroline and Elena were also talking about the Founder's Party.

"So your dad's loaning a bunch of his and your mom's stuff for the party Friday?" Caroline questioned.

"Yeah. He knew how important this party would be to Mom and he wanted to keep things as normal as possible," Elena answered. She didn't mention that he had absolutely refused to lend his gold pocket watch and had gotten into an argument with Mrs. Lockwood about it…which was really weird, but Elena wasn't going to dwell on it.

"So, have you asked Stefan yet?" Caroline queried and Elena shook her head.

"The Founder's Party probably isn't really his style and I'm not going to force him into it. Besides, it's not like we're actually dating," she replied.

"But he's a Salvatore! He has to go! I mean, his uncle Zach's going to be there!" the other girl exclaimed.

"Car, just because Zach Salvatore has a responsibility to the Founding Members of this town, doesn't mean his nephews do," her friend reminded. Then, the warning bell for homeroom rang and they walked off. In the homeroom, Stefan's mind raced. He knew the Founder's Day Party was coming up but he wasn't sure if he really wanted to go, seeing as how the last one that he had gone to had ended in disaster for him. Unable to help himself, he let his mind wander. _Stefan walked through the Salvatore house, looking for his fiancée, Allison Maxwell. Presently, he came upon one of the many bedrooms, this one having its door ajar. _

"_Allison, are you in here?" he asked, pushing the door open further. Stefan felt his eyes widen and he hurried out, trying to deny what he had just seen. _ Stefan shook himself out of his reverie, not wanting to revisit that particular memory. Then, he focused his attention on his backpack, rummaging around, making sure he had his books and the homework that had been assigned. _Good. I have everything he need_, he thought to himself when he saw that he had everything he needed.

"You okay, Brother?" Casey queried in a tone only her brother could hear.

"I'm fine. I just started to remember something I'd rather not," Stefan responded in the same voice.

"Oh, you mean because of the Founder's Party?" Casey queried.

"Yeah," Stefan replied.

"I'd say it's high time you made some new memories," Casey suggested.

"Whatever you're thinking, don't," Stefan warned. Casey just gave an innocent shrug and Stefan rolled his eyes. His sister was nuts. But maybe she had a point. What had happened at the previous Founder's Day Party had been over a hundred years ago. It was time for him to make some new memories. But why would anyone ask him to the Founder's Party? No one really knew him all that well…though it'd be fun to take Elena. _Hmmm…maybe I should ask her_, he thought to himself. Then, he shook his head and tried to refocus on his previous task. After homeroom, Stefan, Elena, Matt, Anna, Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, Sam, Anna, and Casey went to their history class.

"So, do you think we'll still have that sub?" Elena queried, sitting at her desk.

"I hope not. She can't even get our names right," Tyler complained, as he and the others did the same. Almost as soon as he stated this, man who seemed to be in his early thirties with chestnut blonde-hair and blue eyes, wearing a gray shirt with a brown jacket, black jeans, and brown boots walked in. On his right hand on his third finger was a square gold ring with a black rectangle design.

"Well, who is this?" Caroline asked in interest, causing Tyler to glance at her worriedly.

"Down, Car. He's **way** too old for you," Bonnie laughed.

"But he **is** a dish," Elena agreed. The man walked up to the blackboard.

"Alaric Saltzman," he announced, writing the name and then underlining it. "That's my name, given to me by my parents for one of my ancestors," he told them.

"Good name. Germanic in origin," Casey murmured.

"As I recall it means "noble ruler," Stefan responded.

"Now you may want to pronounce it Alaric," he began, using a long 'a' sound. "But that's completely wrong. You can call me Alaric or Ric. Mr. Saltzman is my father," he continued and then explained what his name meant. He then went on to state that he was going to try to figure out where Tanner had left off and then would proceed from there. "The first order of business is to learn all your names and I implore you to bear with me for a while, as it'll probably take me some time," he told them. He then went onto the roll call.

"Bennett, Bonnie."

"Here." Elena glanced over at Bonnie. _Wow. She looks really freaked_, she thought to herself. Almost as if she sensed the same thing, Caroline also looked at Bonnie. Then, she leaned forward and squeezed her shoulder, earning a grateful smile from the girl.

"Donovan, Matt."

"Here."

"Forbes, Caroline."

"Here."

"Gilbert, Elena."

"Present." Ric went on and on down the line.

"Huong, Anna."

"Here." As he went down the list, Alaric committed each name and face to memory. He had always hated it when teachers couldn't keep the class straight and he wasn't going to make the same mistake as those teachers had. Finally, he had reached the 'r's.

"Richards, Sam," Alaric said.

"Right here," Sam confirmed.

"Salvatore, Casey," Alaric stated.

"Here," Casey replied.

"Salvatore, Stefan," Alaric continued.

"Here," Stefan responded.

"Am I correct in assuming that you're brother and sister?" Alaric queried.

"Yes," Casey and Stefan chorused. Alaric then continued with the roll call. When he was done with that, he looked at the class.

"Now then, where did Mr. Tanner leave off?" he asked.

"We had just passed the French Revolution," Matt replied.

"Ah, yes. The French Revolution," Alaric said. He then continued with the lesson and everyone pulled out their notebooks and pens and began taking notes. _Oh, yes. History is finally fun again_, Bonnie thought to herself. She had hated Tanner. Thank goodness he was gone. Not that she had ever wanted Matt or Tyler to be hurt. Everyone had been shocked when they had found out that Tanner had been abusing players. But her shock this morning had nothing to do with what had happened to Stefan, or the discovery of what Tanner had been doing. She had been getting ready for school this morning, when she had a vision of a young African-American woman dressed in servant's clothing. She bit her lip as she recalled what had happened. _Bonnie gathered up her schoolbooks and put them in her backpack. She turned around and-jumped when she saw the young African-American woman. To her surprise, the other woman was wearing old-fashioned servant's attire. _

"_Wha-" Bonnie gasped._

"_You must protect them," the woman told her._

"_Protect who?" Bonnie wondered._

"_The Salvatores. They are about to be in grave danger," the woman told her._

"_Wha-what danger?" Bonnie asked._

"_Protect them," the girl repeated and then disappeared._ Bonnie sighed. _It was so weird_, she thought to herself. Why would the Salvatores need to be protected? It didn't make sense. And who was the girl she had seen? She looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place her. After history class, the students gathered up their books and walked out. Alaric looked over the roster.

"Miss Gilbert, may I talk with you?" he asked suddenly.

"Of course. What can I do for you?" she asked stopping. Hearing the exchange, Tyler slowed down, catching Bonnie and Caroline's attention and causing them to linger at the door. Seeing this, Elena smiled reassuringly and motioned for them to go. However, the three of still stayed and Elena smiled and turned back to Alaric.

"Seeing as how this is my first day, I'm not quite sure of all of Kevin Tanner's classes. I mean, I know that there's this class-" Alaric responded.

"Yeah, he also had an intro class that my brother was in. Are you supposed to take over that one too?" Elena queried.

"Yes, I am," Alaric confirmed.

"Okay, I'll let him know," Elena stated.

"Thanks. You better go before you're late," Alaric stated. Elena nodded and walked towards the exit.

"You guys didn't have to wait," she told them.

"Strikers stick together," Caroline reminded.

"Always," Tyler chimed in.

"And forever," they all finished together.

"You think we're really coming back?" Elena asked, as they all walked out.

"I do. We have most of our powers again," Tyler responded, all of them unaware that Alaric had heard every word. The new teacher frowned. Powers? What were they talking about? And what were the Strikers? He glanced down at the large blue ring on his finger and fiddled with it. It was gold and had a blue crest. He smiled softly, though his eyes clouded with pain. The ring had been given to him by his late wife, Isobel. Isobel. Oh, he missed her. But she had been killed by a vampire. He had held her in his arms and had watched the light go out in her eyes. It wasn't something he wished on his worst enemy. He mentally shook off of his reverie and then got himself busy, looking over Tanner's notes. He had to make sure he had everything ready for the next day. As the day progressed, Bonnie tried to put her vision out of her mind, but found that she couldn't. What did the woman mean that the Salvatores needed to be protected? Protected from who? _This doesn't make sense. And I don't even know who that woman was_, she thought to herself. At lunch, Bonnie, Caroline, Tyler, and Elena got their meals and then sat down at a table.

"So Ty, how are you doing with everything?" Elena asked in concern.

"Glad that Tanner's out of here and that we won't have to put up with his crap," Tyler responded. The girls waited, sensing that there was more. "I miss football though. Wish they'd find another coach," he continued. Presently, Matt, Casey, Anna and Stefan walked up.

"Hey guys," Tyler greeted as he and the others made room for them.

"So, who's going to the Founder's Day Party?" Caroline queried.

"Anna and I are going," Matt responded.

"I don't know if I'm gonna go. They're always lame," Tyler commented.

"Ah, don't worry, Ty. We can make 'em less lame," Elena reminded, popping a chip into her mouth. Stefan looked at Elena in confusion. What did that mean? Were the two going together? Out in the hall, Jeremy rubbed his hands on his jeans nervously.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" Vicki wondered.

"Would you like to go the Founder's Day Party with me, even though you think it's lame?" Jeremy questioned.

"Yeah! I mean, it'd be less lame if we went together," Vicki responded. Jeremy laughed and nodded in agreement. Then, they walked back into the cafeteria.

"So, you guys going together?" Elena questioned. As the others turned to them, Stefan let his senses hone in on the two who had just walked in. Then, he imperceptibly wrinkled his nose. He could smell a myriad of drugs emitting from both of them. _That is…really disgusting_, he thought to himself. In all his years, he could never understand why anyone would want to poison their bodies with that stuff.

"Yep," they chorused.

"So, there's a Founder's Party coming up?" Stefan queried.

"Yeah," the others confirmed.

"Have you never been?" Elena asked.

"It's…been a while," Stefan fudged.

"Well, they can be kind of a drag, but if you know where the booze is…" Caroline let her sentence trail off and everyone laughed.

"Well, at least Mrs. Lockwood got everything she needed from Dad," Elena stated, taking another forkful of food.

"Ooh, that reminds me, Mom said she wanted to know if you'd talk to your dad about his pocket watch," Tyler said.

"Sorry. He's totally not budging on that," Elena responded.

"Well, I can say that I tried," Tyler stated.

"Am I missing something?" Stefan asked.

"Dad's donating a bunch of his and mom's stuff for the Founder's Day event and he **absolutely** refuses to donate our ancestor's Jonathan Gilbert's pocket watch," Elena explained. _The Gilbert device is still around?_ Stefan wondered. If it was, it certainly made sense for the patriarch of the Gilberts to keep it within his sight.

"That's pretty weird," Stefan mused. Before he could say more, however, lunch had ended and they all went to their separate ways. Elena and Stefan headed for their math class and Elena stopped.

"What is it? Is everything okay?" Stefan asked.

"How do you look in a tux?" Elena wondered.

"I can pull one off," Stefan answered. _Is she about to invite me to the Founder's Party?_ he wondered. And if she was, should he accept?

"Well, as you know, the Founder's Day Party is a big deal, at least, to our parents, and uh-I'm babbling," Elena said, cutting herself off. She took a deep breath. "Would you like to go to the Founder's Party with me?" she asked. Stefan resisted the urge to blink. He **still** couldn't get used to girls asking guys out. Not that it had mattered much in the past since he usually turned them down. But now…how should he respond ?

"It would be an honor to accompany you to the dance, Miss Gilbert," Stefan told her, reverting to his formal training.

"Why, thank you, Mr. Salvatore," Elena replied with a slight laugh. _What was that? Did he go to some sort of charm or etiquette school?_ she wondered.

"So I will pick you up on Friday," Stefan stated.

"Seven o'clock. I'll be waiting," Elena confirmed. Stefan opened the door to the math room and stood aside, waiting as Elena walked through. Then, he grinned to himself. Something told him that this Founder's Party would be much better than the last one he had been at.


	8. Family Ties Part 2

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own characters that you don't recognize and the new spin on things. Some slight language in this chapter and some dialogue from the actual ep.

Friday couldn't come fast enough for Elena. When it finally came though, she found herself trying on different outfits. Finally, she threw a shirt on her bed with a frustrated groan. Why was she obsessing over this? It wasn't like it was an actual date. She hardly even knew him for Pete's sake! Jenna poked her head in. The older woman was wearing a blue blouse and a white skirt with a silver cross necklace and gold ball earrings. Her brunette hair had been pulled back into a ponytail.

"Yikes. It looks like a tornado landed on your bed," she commented, noting that the girl was wearing a dark brown skirt.

"Ugh! I have no idea what to wear!" Elena groaned. "And Stefan's going to be here any minute!" she continued. Then, "Why am I even stressing? It's not like we're even going out!"

"But you wish you were," Jenna surmised. "Someone's got a crush," she teased. With an exclamation, Elena leaned over and threw a shirt at her aunt.

"Don't make fun. I need help," she stated. "I mean-I know it's not a date, but I still wanna look good," she continued.

"White top with the brown skirt you're wearing," Jenna told her, grabbing a white shirt and giving it to her niece. Elena took the shirt and put it on, making sure that the necklace that Stefan had given her didn't get caught on the collar. Then, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it some volume.

"Ugh. Your mother was able to do that, and I always hated it," Jenna said. Meanwhile, at the Salvatore mansion, Stefan was also trying to figure out what to wear, while the others simply got dressed in the outfits they had chosen. Anna was wearing a white blouse with gold buttons, a black skirt, clear stockings, and black shoes. Her hair had been brushed straight and then curled with an iron and she was wearing a heart necklace with heart earrings as well as a silver lapis lazuli ring. Pearl was wearing a long black dress with black tights and black heels and a pearl necklace, along with a silver lapis lazuli necklace.

"Uck! This is ridiculous. I don't even know what I'm doing," he muttered in Italian, tossing a shirt to the floor and rummaging around his closet. At the moment, he was topless with black slacks, white socks, and brown boots.

"Problems, Brother?" Damon asked. The oldest Salvatore watched as his brother continually tried on shirts and rejected them. _Ah, the Founder's Party_, Damon thought to himself. He remembered the feeling of nervousness and anticipation he had had when he had escorted Katherine to the very first one. He was wearing a black silk shirt covered by a nice black dress jacket, black slacks, black socks, and a pair of black loafers and his hair had been slicked back. Stefan ignored his brother's question as he grabbed a black silk shirt and then held it up to see what it looked like. As he did so, his mind went back. _Stefan walked through the Salvatore house, looking for his fiancée, Allison Maxwell. Presently, he came upon one of the many bedrooms, this one having its door ajar. _

"_Allison, are you in here?" he asked, pushing the door open further. There was a gasp of surprise._

"_What the hell?" a man's voice queried as the door was opened further. Stefan felt his eyes widen at the sight of his fiancée on top of another man. He hurried out, trying to deny what he had just seen. There was no way this was happening._

"_Stefan! Stefan!" Allison cried, hurrying after him. "Stefan, honey. Wait," she pleaded, grabbing his arm._

"_Let go of me, Wench. Our engagement is off," Stefan snapped, pulling out of her grasp._

"Bad memories?" Katherine's voice broke through Stefan's reverie.

"Well, as you know, the Founder's Party was not one of happiness for me," Stefan answered, casting the black silk aside and then choosing another shirt.

"Oh, yes. You caught that wench cheating on you," Katherine remembered, her face scrunching up in disgust. Honestly, who could ever bear to hurt Stefan like that? It was something she had never understood. "You should've just let me make a meal of her," she continued. The woman was wearing a dark green blouse with a black skirt that was just barely long enough to escape being called a mini and pair of green heels. She had teased and coifed her hair until it was lying in curls.

"And let the Council find you? Never," Stefan responded with a shake of his head. "Besides, Elena's not Allison," he continued.

"Elena?" Pearl queried. "Are you escorting the young Miss Gilbert to the Founder's Party?" she asked.

"As a matter of fact, I am," Stefan confirmed.

"Better than Allison Maxwell," Anna stated. Her mother fixed her with a glare. "What? We're all thinking it," she defended herself.

"She **is** right," Lexi agreed. She was wearing a long red dress and red heels as well as diamond stud earrings and her necklace which was a gold heart with red, blue, and green rhinestones adorning the edges on a silver chain. Like Katherine, her hair had been curled and surrounded her face in waves. Stefan ignored them and continued to go through his closet. Presently, Casey and Sam walked in. Sam was wearing a tan suit with a pair of tan loafers as well as his day-walking ring which was old-fashioned gold ring with a gray stone tinged with red coloring and his hair had been combed straight.

"I feel like an idiot," he complained.

"Oh, come on, babe. You look hot," Casey responded. She was wearing a pale yellow blouse with a white skirt that like Katherine's just barely escaped being a mini. She also had on diamond earrings and a gold cross necklace as well as her lapis lazuli ring.

"Cassandra, what are you wearing?" Damon asked sharply, his gaze focusing on the skirt.

"Clothes, Damon. They're called clothes," Casey replied.

"That skirt is much too short. Change it," Damon ordered, causing Stefan to turn around.

"No," Casey defied.

"Change it," Damon growled, his eyes flashing. He could feel his vampiric side threatening to surface and he tried to keep it down. But honestly! What did Casey expect from him when he saw her outfit?

"Damon, she looks stunning," Katherine defended. _Besides, I'm practically wearing the same thing_, she thought to herself.

"Gotta say I'm with Damon on this one. That skirt will only invite trouble," Stefan stated.

"Stay out of this, Stefano," Damon snapped, using his brother's birth name.

"Damone, she looks fine," Katherine declared in Italian as she came to stand beside her boyfriend.

"Besides, I can handle myself," Casey continued, also in Italian. Damon let out an unnecessary sigh. Casey was right of course and had in fact worn similar outfits. But he was the oldest; he had a responsibility to both of his siblings.

"All right, all right. You're right," Damon grumbled and Stefan resumed his search for a shirt. Finally, he pulled out a white shirt and slipped it on, fastening the buttons. When he was done, the boy grabbed the jacket part of his tux and put it on.

"Now if you'll all excuse me, I have a girl to pick up and escort," Stefan said, grabbing the directions he had gotten from Elena and then walking out of the mansion, just as Zach walked in.

"My, my. Don't you look handsome?" Pearl commented. Zach was wearing a black tuxedo, a white shirt, and a pair of good black shoes.

"I'm just glad I don't have to wear a tie," Zach replied and everyone laughed. Then, once they were all sure that they were properly prepared, they got into their respective cars and left. Back at the Gilbert house, Jeremy and Elena had finished getting ready and were in the living room. Jeremy was wearing a light gray tux and a dark black tie and his hair had been brushed and styled so that that there were some bangs in the front.

"I can't believe you're going with Vicki Donovan," Elena commented, checking her purse to make sure her Epipen Auto-Injector was inside and that it was still filled.

"Oh, come on Elena, she's not so bad," Jeremy defended.

"You guys are doing drugs together! How is that not bad?" Elena wondered.

"She didn't force me to take them. I made that decision all by myself," Jeremy told her.

"Oh yeah Jer, that's **real** comforting," Elena sarcastically responded.

"Remember, you're still grounded after tonight," Grayson reminded them and the kids nodded. It sucked, but what could they do? Grayson was wearing a gray tux and his hair was combed back. The doorbell rang and Elena hurried towards the front door. When she opened it, she saw Stefan and Vicki there.

"Jer, Vicki's here!" she called. Jeremy walked up and grinned.

"Wow, Vic…you look…beautiful," he breathed. The girl was wearing a soft-looking yellow dress and her brown hair was positioned around her face in soft, curly ringlets.

"Really?" Vicki queried shyly. _I'm not wearing anything really fancy. I'm sure he's used to a girl with more class_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah. You look amazing," Jeremy confirmed. He reached over to cup her cheek.

"You look nice," Stefan commented, looking Elena over.

"Well, don't let it be said that I can't clean up well," Elena joked and they all laughed. After a couple of pictures courtesy of Grayson, they all left. Minutes later, they arrived at the Lockwood Estate, where they were invited in by Richard and Carol Lockwood. The vampires looked at each other subtly and then followed the rest of the guests in. As they headed for the registry, Vicki smoothed her dress nervously. Maybe coming here was a mistake. She was trash and she was here at this party, probably embarrassing Jeremy. Almost as if he sensed her thoughts, Jeremy pulled her close.

"You're beautiful," he told her, placing a small kiss on the top of her head. She smiled.

"Thanks. I needed that," she murmured. They signed their names and then went on. When Stefan and Elena came up to the registry, he tensed. Would Elena make the connection?

"Wow. Look at all these familiar names. All of the Founding Families turned out for this back then," she breathed. Then a certain name caught her eye. "Stefan Salvatore? And Damon and Cassandra?" she queried in slight surprise.

"The original Salvatores," Damon responded from behind them. "We were all named for our ancestors," he explained and as Damon revealed a little of their family history, Stefan's mind wandered. _Stefan walked over to the refreshment table and swiped a drink._

"_Don't let your father catch you," Katherine teased warningly. _

"_At this point, I would not care," Stefan responded, taking a drink._

"_What is it? What happened?" Katherine asked in concern. Stefan wasn't usually so snappish or prone to drowning his sorrows, so what had happened to cause this reaction? Before she could ask any more, his fiancée walked up to him._

"_Stefan, will you please listen to me?" Allison questioned and Katherine let out a growl that was too low for human ears. Along with the human's scent of lilies, Katherine could also smell sex emitting from the other girl. Now she understood what was happening: Stefan had caught Allison cheating._

"_Stefan, we need to discuss what just happened," Allison told him._

"_There is nothing to discuss. Our engagement is off," Stefan replied_. Stefan gave himself a mental shake and moved on, giving his brother and sister a chance to sign the registry. Once they had all gone through, the kids went off in different directions. Stefan let out an unnecessary breath and he looked around. It was quite a gathering, just like the first one. While this was going on, Richard and Carol had approached Grayson.

"Grayson, so glad you could make it," Richard stated.

"Hey, Richard. Hey Carol," Grayson acknowledged.

"We wouldn't have held you and the kids to coming, not while you're still grieving Miranda," Carol assured.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you," Grayson commented.

"How are you and the kids holding up?" Carol questioned.

"We're managing," Grayson replied. At the same time this was going on, Jenna approached the bar.

"Beer please," she requested. The bartender poured her the beverage.

"Jenna, hey," Logan said, coming up behind her.

"Go away," Jenna respond, turning from him.

"Oh, come on. Don't be that way. We can be friends. Heck, we used to be more," Logan reminded, sidling up to her. The bartender looked at them and then moved about his business. He wasn't going to get in the middle of a couple's squabble.

"Get lost, Logan," Jenna snapped. From where he was, Stefan heard their conversation. His eyes clouded as his mind went back.

"_Stefan, please talk to me!" Allison begged, reaching out to grab his wrist._

"_I told you, there is nothing to talk about! The engagement is off!" Stefan shouted, breaking free of her grasp. Giuseppe Salvatore quickly walked over to them. What was going on?_

"_Stefan, what is going on? What do you mean your engagement is off?" he demanded._

"_Just what I said. I do not wish to see this wench ever again," Stefan snapped as Allison's father Robert joined them._

"_You mind your manners, boy! That is no way to speak of my daughter," Robert growled, starting for Stefan. However, Giuseppe stopped his friend, while casting a confused look at his youngest son. He had raised his sons to be much more respectful of the fairer sex. What could have caused Stefan to act in such a manner?_

"_Pray tell me, Sir, how would you describe a girl who shares a bed with a man before wedlock? And an engaged one at that," Stefan spat out. Then, he stomped off. He __**sorely**__ needed a drink._

"Stefan?" The sound of Elena's voice brought Stefan out of his reverie and he shook the memory aside. "You okay?" she asked, adjusting her purse on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured, flashing her a smile. Meanwhile, Jenna had grabbed her beer and had walked away, Logan at her heels.

"Will you at least talk to me? You owe me that!" Logan stated unaware that he had caught the attention of a certain member of Mystic Falls' faculty who headed for them. Jenna turned around and then let out a scoffing laugh.

"I owe you?" she repeated. "You weren't the one who was humiliated, **I** was. Now go away," she told him. Logan took a step forward and started for her.

"I believe the lady wants you to leave her alone," a voice told them and they both turned to see a man with chestnut hair, hazel eyes and a sharp black suit. "You want me to butt in or out?" he checked with Jenna.

"In!" she told him.

"Now, usually when a lady walks away from you, it means you're bothering her. So why don't you just take a hint and go get yourself a drink?" he suggested. Jenna let out a small grin. Lady. He had called her a lady. That felt…**nice**.

"Why don't you mind your own business?" Logan sneered. Really? Who did this guy think he was? What they didn't know was that their conversation had been noticed by Sheriff Forbes who began walking towards them.

"I would…except that she accepted my help and I **don**'**t** back off," the man told him.

"Well, take it from me. You should," Logan stated, emphasizing his point with a small shove. When the man didn't react, he laughed. "What's the matter? Can't finish what you start?" he taunted, shoving him again.

"Okay, Logan. That's enough," Elizabeth interrupted as she reached them. "I suggest you move on unless you want me to arrest you for harassment and attempting to disturb the peace," she said. Logan huffed but did as he was told.

"Thanks, Sheriff," Jenna said. _I can't believe this! I feel like a little girl_, she thought to herself.

"Call me 'Liz', and it's not a problem, Jenna. If he bothers you again, let me know," Sheriff Forbes stated.

"Will do," Jenna promised. Then Liz walked away.

"By the way, I'm Alaric Saltzman," the man stated.

"Jenna Sommers," Jenna introduced herself. Then, "Alaric? As in Elena and Jeremy's new history teacher?" Alaric laughed.

"Yes, that's me," he confirmed. "Get her another drink…on me," he said to the bartender. Zach, who had witnessed the scene along with several others, shook his head. Leave it to Logan Fell to make a nuisance of himself. Now Jenna would **really** need a drink, though from the look of it, this Alaric guy seemed to be making a good impression on her. While all this was going on, Tyler was talking to Matt and some of their football buddies as their dates listened with some boredom.

"Man, I'm loving Coach Lyman," a boy stated.

"Yeah, he's made football fun again," Matt agreed.

"I'll drink to that. Well…so to speak," Tyler commented with a rueful grin.

"Couldn't even get near it, huh?"

"Nope." The boys laughed. Then Caroline walked over.

"Are you guys still talking football?" she queried.

"Yes, what else?" Anna quipped and Caroline laughed. On another part of the estate, Stefan and Elena had gotten caught by Tiki who had started talking to them incessantly. The two shared pained grins and then turned back to the girl. After a while, Elena decided that she had had enough.

"Um, Stefan, I'm a little thirsty. Would you mind…?"

"Not at all," Stefan replied. "Why don't you come with me?" he suggested.

"Good idea. After all, I'm not sure what Mrs. Lockwood has," Elena agreed.

"Well, I'm thirsty too," Tiki told them. Stefan and Elena looked at each other. What could they say?

"Hey, Tiki!" someone shouted. The girl turned and then ran off.

"Oh, thank God. I thought we would never get out of there," Elena sighed in relief.

"That girl sure can talk," Stefan agreed. "I'll get the drinks. Allow me to be a good date," he told her.

"Okay," Elena agreed. She wasn't going to argue with that. Stefan walked off. As he did so, an older gentleman glanced at him, and then did a double take. He excused himself from his current conversation and then followed the boy.

"Excuse me. Young man," he said, loud enough for Stefan to hear, but not loud enough to draw attention from anyone else. Stefan's brows furrowed at the familiar voice. _Reginald Jones?_ he thought to himself. He turned around and the man's eyes widened.

"Stefan. It **is** you. How is it possible?" he wondered. _It's impossible! Stefan was my age_, he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I don't know what you're talking about. I think you have me confused with someone else," Stefan replied. Reginald shook his head. It was impossible, but here was Stefan Salvatore looking the same way he had the last he had been in Mystic Falls.

"We were kids together," Reginald insisted.

"Oh, that was my grandfather. Like him, I was named for the original Stefan Salvatore. People say that I looked just he him when he was young," Stefan lied. Reginald shook his head in mild disbelief.

"Whoo! And here I thought I was going crazy," he stated.

"I'm sure it must've been a shock," Stefan sympathized.

"Is your grandfather here?" Reginald asked.

"Sadly, no. He passed away a few years ago," Stefan answered.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Reginald said, his face becoming sad.

"Thank you. It was a great loss for all of us," Stefan replied.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Reginald apologized.

"No bother at all," Stefan assured. Reginald walked away and Stefan immediately went to where Damon was.

"We may have a bit of a problem," Stefan murmured.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked in concern.

"Reginald Jones is here. I think he recognized me. I played it of like I was a grandson, but I'm not sure if he bought it," Stefan replied.

"Well, we won't make a move unless he does," Damon decided. Then Stefan realized that their Sire wasn't with him.

"Where's Katherine?"

"She said she wanted to mingle. And as you know, there's no arguing with her." Stefan nodded in agreement. It wasn't really wise to argue with the girl as she could argue circles around anyone. Plus, she was stronger than them. Zach walked over to them.

"Granted this may not be any of my business, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Everything's fine except that one of Stefan's buddies from the fifties recognized him," Damon answered.

"What?" Zach asked concern. _That can't be good,_ he thought to himself.

"Like I told Damon, I played it off like I was a grandson, but if there's anything else that makes him suspicious…" Stefan's sentence trailed off. He didn't want to even think about possibly compelling the man. He didn't really like using that particular power unless he **absolutely** had to.

"I can keep an eye on him," Zach offered.

"Well, I don't think it's necessary, but if it changes, I'll let you know," Damon responded and Zach nodded. As this was going on, Reginald headed for the bar, mulling over Stefan's words. He wasn't sure if he believed the boy though. He had come up with the explanation too fast and it sounded rehearsed, though it could be true. But if it wasn't…well, maybe he was losing it. Meanwhile, Elena looked over the Lockwood Estate and let out a soft smile grace her lips. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood sure knew how to throw a party. And Mrs. Lockwood wasn't even that bad. A bit stuck up at times, but she had a good heart.

"You must be Elena," a voice commented from behind her. _Oh, there's someone new at the party_, Elena thought to herself. It must be one of Stefan's friends. He had said that he and his brother had moved here along with some friends. Which was a little odd when you thought about it, but wasn't really any of her business.

"Yes, I am," Elena answered, turning around. Then, her jaw dropped in shock. She was staring at herself.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The name of the new football coach was a shout out to the books by L.J. Smith. I'm not sure if I'll ever show him, but I wanted to at least mention him.


	9. Family Ties Part 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

The Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the C.W. The Strikers angle is from the Dark Visions trilogy and also belongs to L.J. Smith. I only own the plot. One kind of swear word in this chap. I had a friend do an on-line search on symptoms of an allergic attack and I believe I have things as accurate as possible.

"Wha-how?" Elena stammered.

"Don't be alarmed and don't draw attention to us," Katherine said. "I'm Katherine, a friend of Stefan's," she continued.

"Okay," Elena agreed. _What's going on?_ she wondered. How did she and this girl look exactly alike?

"Look, I know that this is very confusing, and I'll explain when I can. I just wanted to meet you," Katherine told her. _I have to make sure she's protected at all costs. I won't let Klaus have her_, she thought to herself.

"Okay," Elena agreed, her voice betraying her confusion. _This is weird_, she thought.

"Well, I'm going to go mingle. I'll talk to you later," Katherine stated and walked off. Meanwhile, Stefan had walked back towards the refreshment table to get Elena's drink. After all, that's what he had said he was going to do and he was sure that Elena was already wondering what was taking him so long. While this was going on, Katherine had rejoined Damon.

"So, did you enjoy confusing your Doppelganger?" he asked in a tone only she could hear.

"That wasn't the point of me making contact with her. I'm hoping it'll intrigue her enough that she'll look into it, and be better prepared if Klaus ever **does** find her," she responded in the same voice. Damon gave her hand a small sympathetic squeeze. He knew she hated the fact that her bloodline was being hunted and some of them had even been killed.

"Well, I'm going to get a drink. I think I need one," Katherine declared.

"Good idea," Damon agreed. With that, they headed for the refreshment table. As they did, they greeted multiple people that they passed and caught snippets of conversations. As they did so, they passed a boy in a light gray tux and a girl wearing a soft yellow dress.

"Oh, this is boring," the boy complained.

"Don't worry, Jeremy. I know where we can get a big score after this party. One of my friends **always** has good drugs," the girl told him.

"Great," the boy approved. Then, someone called Jeremy's name and the boy excused himself and went over to the boy as Katherine and Damon shared a look.

"I'll take this Jeremy kid, you take the girl," the female vampire stated and her boyfriend nodded and they split up.

"Jeremy!" Katherine called. He turned around.

"Elena," he said. "Everything okay?" he questioned.

"Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were having a good time," she replied, making sure she was right in front of the boy. She then let her pupils dilate and Jeremy found himself staring deeply into her eyes. "You don't want to do drugs. You don't need them. You have your father and your sister. If you ever feel a craving for them or the urge to seek them out, you'll call your father, your sister, or your aunt or go to find them if you can't reach them on the phone. Let them support you. They care about you, hold on to that," she stated. Dully, Jeremy repeated what she said. "You'll keep calling them until the urge either passes or they come get you or you'll seek them out and you'll let them stop you if you feel like leaving to find drugs," she finished. She knew she didn't have to necessarily repeat any words for the compulsion to stick, but she wanted to make sure that the desire to get help from his family was ingrained in him. Once again Jeremy repeated the words. Satisfied, Katherine went on her way. Then, Jeremy frowned in confusion. What had just happened? Shaking his head, he went off in search of Vicki. Meanwhile, Damon had chatted up Vicki who introduced herself and then had proceeded to tell him her life story: how her father had left when she was little as had her mom, and Matt was basically raising her.

"It sounds like your brother really cares about you," Damon stated.

"He does, but I don't see why. I mean, I'm the screw up and he's the golden boy. Everyone loves him. Someday he's going to have a wife and kids, and I'll just still be the screwed up junkie," Vicki moped. _Wow. She has no self-esteem and other people in the town probably don't help matters_, Damon thought to himself.

"Well, you're his sister. He loves you. You just have to hold on to that," he encouraged. "What about your date?" he asked.

"Jeremy? He's sweet. All he's ever seen in me is more and I like that, but…I'm sure he'll eventually get tired of me just like everybody else. Or he'll do what his sister Elena says. She doesn't like me," Vicki replied.

"Well, I can't really tell you what Jeremy's thinking," Damon began. Which wasn't quite true. He could smell true love emitting from both of them, though it was faint, which meant that it was just beginning and needed a chance to grow. "but I know that he cares deeply for you and you don't want to do drugs," he continued.

"What?" Vicki asked testily. Who did this guy think he was? She could do drugs if she wanted to and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

"You don't want to do drugs," Damon repeated, making sure that she was caught in his gaze as his pupils dilated. He hadn't meant to be so abrupt with the girl but he had spotted Jeremy coming towards them and knew that he had to do this fast if he didn't want to arouse suspicion.

"I don't want to do drugs," Vicki repeated.

"You have Matt and Jeremy who care about you. If you get a craving for drugs or feel the urge to take them, you'll call Matt or Jeremy," Damon repeated.

"If I feel an urge to take them, I'll call Matt or Jeremy," Vicki dutifully echoed.

"You'll keep calling them or if you can't reach them, you'll seek them out," Damon stated.

"If I can't reach them, I'll seek them out," Vicki intoned.

"Let them help you. They'll be there for you," Damon said.

"They'll be there for me," Vicki repeated as Damon noticed Jeremy coming closer.

"That's a good girl," Damon said, as his features returned to normal. Vicki shook her head in confusion.

"I'm sorry. What was I saying?" she asked.

"Nothing," the vampire replied. "And who is this?" he asked as Jeremy approached them.

"I'm Jeremy Gilbert. And you are?" Jeremy responded, coming to stand by Vicki, putting a protective arm around her waist.

"Damon Salvatore. Zach's nephew," Damon answered, shifting his body so that he was standing in what was viewed as the acceptable social distance from a person one was just meeting.

"Nice to meet you," Jeremy said coolly. He may have been Zach's nephew, but they hardly knew him and the last thing Vicki needed was another guy bothering her. "If you'll excuse us," Jeremy continued.

"Of course," Damon agreed, stepping aside and the two walked off. Then, the vampire also rejoined the party. While all of this was going on, Lexi and Pearl had heard everything Damon and Katherine had done.

"That was a good thing they did," Lexi commented in a low tone.

"Well, we've seen better than anyone what drugs can do to a person in the sixties," Pearl said.

"Yeah, it wasn't good. Blood tasted weird," Lexi agreed.

"And Stefan going off the deep end didn't help," Pearl murmured. Lexi nodded. No one had been expecting Stefan to shut off his humanity and go on a killing spree. Meanwhile, Stefan and Elena had walked around the estate, stopping to talk to various classmates. Presently, they ran into Bonnie and her grandmother.

"Hey, Bon," Elena greeted.

"Bonnie," Stefan acknowledged. Then, "Hello, Ma'am. I'm Stefan Salvatore, Zach's nephew." Sheila took the offered hand and almost instantly, she received images of Stefan in different time periods as well as sensations from the boy. Sheila gave Stefan a meaningful look at the familiar feelings. She remembered him from the late sixties. He had been shy, withdrawn…at first she hadn't understood why, but then Katherine had explained that the vampire had been coming down off of a killing frenzy and was still twitchy around humans. Apparently, he was in much better control now and was able to be around humans.

"Yes, Zach mentioned that you and your brother had just moved here," Sheila said, dropping his hand.

"Yes, that's right," Stefan responded.

"Well, if there's ever anything…" Sheila began.

"We will contact you," Stefan finished the old saying. Sheila nodded in agreement and watched as the two walked off.

"Grams?" Bonnie asked in confusion. "What was that about?" she wondered.

"Bonnie, Baby, we need to talk," Sheila told her granddaughter, pulling her to a secluded corner.

"Grams, if this is about my Powers-" Bonnie began.

"Oh please child, don't you dismiss me," Sheila requested.

"No, I'm not going to. I got a problem," Bonnie said and then proceeded tell her about the visit from the strange girl.

"You say that she mentioned that the Salvatores were in danger?" Sheila asked, straightening her stance.

"Yeah, so?" Bonnie queried.

"Oh, baby, we have got some major preparing to do if what I suspect is true," Sheila told her, taking her granddaughter's arm and heading for the exit. Once they were outside, Sheila headed for her car; the two got in, and drove back to her house. Once they were there, they went inside to the living room and Sheila searched a shelf for a book and then pulled it down. "Now, this is a history of our witch lineage and from your description, I would have to say that the girl you saw is Emily Bennett, a **very** powerful witch," she stated, opening the book and stopping at a certain page. Bonnie's jaw dropped. On the page was a black and white photo of an African-American woman in servant's clothing.

"That's her. That's who I saw!" she gasped.

"And she said that the Salvatores were in danger?" her grandmother queried.

"Yeah and that I had to protect them," came the confirmation. "But Grams, why? Why would she say that I have to protect them?" she wondered.

"Because baby, Stefan, Damon, Casey, and their friends Sam, Katherine, Lexi, Pearl, and Anna are vampires," Sheila replied.

"Vampires?" Bonnie repeated. "That-that can't be. Stefan, Casey, Sam, and Anna go to school with us," she denied.

"They have day-walking charms," Sheila explained.

"But vampires are evil and they kill people. Why would our ancestor want to protect them?" Bonnie asked.

"Because this particular group of vampires has gone to great pains to make sure that they don't harm anyone," Sheila answered. _Well, except for when they blow off steam in a feeding frenzy_, she thought. But you couldn't really blame them for that. With the amount of time they spent on a diet that was different than normal, they deserved to be able to be themselves every once in a while. Then, before she could say anymore, there was a slight rumbling.

"Grams?" Bonnie asked with some fright.

"Calm down, child. I think it's just our ancestors making contact," Sheila stated. Almost as soon as she finished speaking, some of the books on the shelves were knocked down. "Now, come on! Some of these books are priceless!" she protested. Then her protests died as something caught her eye. "Oh, my word! I thought this was lost!"

"What?" For an answer, Sheila held up an orange necklace that looked like a crystal.

"This was Emily's talisman. After her death, it disappeared, only showing up once in a while when certain witches came into power," she told her granddaughter.

"And it's showing itself now? Why?" Bonnie asked.

"Because it's chosen you, Baby. You are the next Bennett Witch who will look after this talisman," Sheila answered, handing the necklace to Bonnie. _Wow. I-I-I'm kind of flattered_, Bonnie thought to herself. From the way her grandmother was talking, the talisman was extremely important and to be chosen as its keeper was an honor. Bonnie unclasped the necklace, placed it around her neck and her then her grandmother helped her to refasten it. As the woman did so, the necklace shone brightly before returning to its natural color. Bonnie smiled at the warmth the charm had emitted. Sure she had been wary of what her grams had been telling her, but now…it just felt right…like she was home.

"It's very important that you keep this on you at all times and that you don't let anybody take this off of you," Sheila instructed.

"Okay, Grams," Bonnie agreed. Meanwhile, back at the Lockwood estate, Bonnie and Sheila's departure had been noted and was being discussed by various guests.

"I wonder why Bonnie and her grams left," Elena commented as they headed for the refreshment table. _Too weird_, she thought, tightening her grip on her purse.

"I'm not sure. I hope they're okay," Stefan added. _It sounded like a witch thing and I'm not about to get in the middle of __**that**_, he thought to himself. Oh, he'd lend a hand if they asked for it, but he wasn't going to meddle.

"Oh, I'm sure they are. But I'll check with Bonnie later," Elena assured. _I hope it's nothing serious. After all, she's had enough crap happen to her. But if it's the witch thing her grams has been talking about, I'll protect her secret no matter what_, she thought to herself as she and Stefan finally reached the refreshment table and they each grabbed a small slice of cake. Stefan let a small smile grace his features when he smelled the ingredients. He **loved** peanuts.

"You want me to take your purse?" Stefan offered.

"No, it's all right," Elena answered. While this was going on, Caroline and Tyler were talking with Matt, Anna, Jeremy, and Vicki. Suddenly, Caroline froze. She suddenly felt cold all over, which was usually a precursor to a bad feeling.

"Car, you okay?" Tyler asked.

"Something's wrong. I can **feel** it," Caroline emphasized. Tyler stiffened. He knew that tone and Caroline's feelings were **never** wrong. Meanwhile, Elena and Stefan had continued on from the refreshment table, eating their cake and talking, though Elena was taking longer in between bites. All of a sudden, Elena dropped her plate, causing Stefan to stop.

"Elena?" he asked. His brows furrowed as he heard her breath become wheezy. What was going on? She didn't smell right all of a sudden. She let out a noise of distress and reached up at her throat. "Elena? What's wrong?" Then, with a moan, the girl fell forward. "Elena!" he exclaimed, catching her, causing his own plate to fall. "Somebody help!" he shouted. At this, various people-including Caroline and Tyler-turned and hurried towards his voice.

"Elena!" Caroline shouted.

"Oh, my gosh! She's had a reaction!" Jeremy exclaimed, seeing the dropped plate. He ran to Elena, followed by his father. Reaching her, Jeremy went to her purse, got out her Epipen Auto-Injector, prepared it and stuck her in the thigh. Immediately Tyler pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"We need an ambulance at 2597 Fells Lane. A girl's had an allergic reaction to peanuts," he reported when he got through. _This doesn't make sense. Mom doesn't let anyone put peanuts in __**anything **__at these parties_, he thought to himself. Then he hung up. "They should be here soon." Within minutes, they all heard sirens and the paramedics rushed in, and checked the girl over.

"Does she have an Auto-Injector?" a paramedic questioned.

"Yeah, I already administered it," Jeremy replied. The paramedics then hurried her into the ambulance.

"Jeremy, let's go," Grayson stated.

"Right behind you, Dad," Jeremy assured, grabbing Elena's purse.

"We're coming with you," Tyler, Vicki, and Caroline chorused as Caroline dialed a number and Stefan quickly followed them, his brother and friends at his heels. A few minutes later, she got through.

"Bonnie, Caroline. Elena's had an allergic reaction and she's being taken to Mystic Community General," she reported and then hung up. Carol strode over Grayson.

"Grayson, I'm going to look into this and when I find out who disobeyed my orders and put peanuts in the chocolate cake, they will be fired," she promised. The man nodded and then went on as Carol headed to the kitchen and Richard went to dispose of the chocolate cake. "Okay, who put peanuts in the chocolate cake?" Carol demanded, stomping into the kitchen angrily.

"That's what the recipe I was using called for, Ma'am," a man-Andrew Rawlings-stated.

"Didn't I specifically state that you were **not** to put peanuts in anything?" she asked, walking towards him.

"But Ma'am, just because you don't like them-" the protest was cut off as Carol slapped him.

"Elena Gilbert was just taken to the hospital! She's allergic to peanuts, you moron," she told him. "Mr. Rawlings, you are fired. Get out of my house," she snapped. In the hospital waiting room, Grayson, Jeremy, Stefan, Damon, Katherine, Caroline, Matt, and Tyler were waiting nervously.

"Car?" a voice asked.

"Bonnie," Caroline said in relief and Bonnie ran to her friend, hugging her tightly.

"Grayson, we left as soon as we heard. Is there any word yet?" Sheila queried and Grayson shook his head.

"Nothing yet," he responded.

"I hope we got here in time," Caroline worried.

"She'll be fine, I'm sure of it. She got the injection, we got her to the hospital, she'll be okay," Tyler assured. Hearing the undertone of worry, Stefan started to head off in the direction Elena had been taken in.

"Whoa, Brother. Where do you think you're going?" Damon asked in a quiet tone, grabbing the younger boy's arm.

"There's one way to assure she'll be okay," Stefan declared in the same voice.

"Wait a minute. Just let the doctors work on her first. There's no need to draw attention to ourselves," Damon cautioned.

"But-" Stefan began to object.

"Believe me, I understand, but Damon's right," Katherine interrupted. Presently a doctor came out.

"She's resting now. You can go in if you'd like," he told them and they all followed the doctor into the room.

"Hey girl," Caroline greeted.

"Hey guys," Elena acknowledged, sitting up. "So what happened? Mrs. Lockwood **never** lets any of the cooks put peanuts in anything," she commented.

"There was a new cook on the staff. My guess is that after tonight, he won't be employed by us," Tyler responded.

"How are you feeling?" Matt asked.

"A little shaky, but okay," Elena replied. "When can I get out of here?" she continued.

"Well, you seem to be okay and you were given your injection just in time, so you should be ready to go in a few minutes," the doctor replied. True to his word, within a few minutes, Elena was released and they all went with the Gilberts as they headed for their home.

"Guys, I'm fine. Honest," Elena insisted.

"Maybe, but this is the second time this year you've been in the hospital," Bonnie commented.

"Yeah," the others agreed.

"I know, but I'm fine. Really. Go back to the party or go home, please?" Elena pleaded. _I love them, but I don't really want company right now_, she thought to herself. Reluctantly, everyone but Stefan went back to their cars and drove off.

"You sure you're okay?" Stefan asked in concern.

"Yes, I'm fine. I promise," Elena insisted.

"So…tonight didn't really end the way I expected or wanted it to," Stefan said, taking Elena's hand.

"Yeah, maybe our next date will end better," Elena agreed.

"Date?" Stefan repeated. _She thought of it as a date too?_ he thought.

"Well, no. I-I didn't mean-" Elena stammered. _How could I have been so stupid?_ she berated herself.

"Another date would be most agreeable, Miss Gilbert," Stefan said using his formal speech.

"I completely concur, Mr. Salvatore," Elena told him. Stefan gave her a small peck on the cheek. Then, Stefan got into his car and drove off as Elena went inside.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know that Elena probably wouldn't have been released so soon after a serious attack like this but I needed to speed it up for the sake of the story.


	10. Decisions And Spells Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Long Live BRUCAS: Yes, Grams wants to help these vampires. Just these vampires though. Not all. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith. The Strikers angle also comes from L.J. Smith. I only own the new plots and twists.

Bonnie tossed and turned, moaning in her sleep. She had been tired after finally finishing her homework, so she had decided to take a nap. Unfortunately, her dreams had soon turned disturbing. _Guards marched various people into a tomb. Most-if not all-acted as if they had been drugged._ Bonnie let out a small whimper. _Emily approached the tomb, clutching her talisman and chanting._ Once again, Bonnie turned to the side in her sleep. _There was a rumble and the tomb opened._ Then the scene shifted. _People with monstrous visages lunged at Stefan, Damon, Casey and their friends, pointed pieces of wood in their hands. Within moments, Stefan, Damon, and Casey, along with their friends were lying motionless on the ground, the wood buried in their chest. Suddenly, Emily appeared once more._

_ "Protect them," she insisted._ With a scream, Bonnie awoke, jerking straight up. Hearing the cry, Sheila ran into her granddaughter's room.

"Bonnie, are you all right?" Sheila asked, hurrying over to the girl.

"It-it-it was horrible. This-this tomb opened and all these people came out and they attacked Casey, Stefan, and Damon and stuck these pieces of wood in their chests," Bonnie panted.

"The spell Emily placed on the tomb to keep the creatures in must be weakening," Sheila said.

"I don't understand," Bonnie confessed.

"Emily wrote in her diary that a few weeks after she, Katherine, and the Salvatores left, she returned to Mystic Falls to perform a sealing spell on a tomb that dangerous Supernatural creatures had been placed in which meant that they were locked in the tomb. But if the spell fades and those creatures get out, they may try to take revenge on the Salvatores for working with Katherine to stop them," Sheila explained.

"And she wants **me** to make sure this doesn't happen?" Bonnie queried.

"That's what it sounds like, Baby," Sheila responded.

"I don't know, Grams. I'm still learning all of this. What if I don't have enough power?" Bonnie protested.

"Don't you worry about that. I'll help you," Sheila promised. "Now then, we have research to do," she declared. Bonnie followed her grandmother into the living where the woman went to the shelf, took down two books and handed one to Bonnie while she began flipping through the pages of the other.

"You think the spell she used is in one of her Grimoires?" Bonnie asked, starting to do the same.

"I'm sure it is," Sheila replied. At the Salvatore Boarding house, Stefan was writing in his diary.

Dear Diary, it's been a few weeks since the Founder's Party and Elena and I have been getting closer. We've had a few dates since then and I've told her a bit about myself: my love for great literature and Grisham, my love for Seinfeld and I Love Lucy…I even cooked for her. I haven't cooked for a girl outside our group for so long…it felt good. She's funny and smart; I'm completely falling for her. But…I'm a vampire. And she doesn't know. I don't know what to do. I could tell her…but what if she's different from Jonathan and Grayson? What if she doesn't understand? What if she thinks…I'm a monster?

Stefan placed his pen down with a sigh as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes clouding. He didn't want Elena to think he was a monster, but how could she not? He drank blood. Granted he didn't take it from a human but used blood bags as well as drinking animal blood, but still, the bloodlust would be all she'd see. _Things are going well between us. I don't want to ruin it_, he thought to himself, rubbing the side of his neck nervously.

"You okay, Brother?" Stefan turned to see Casey who was dressed in a green and red tie-dyed shirt with a pair of black jeans that had a brown belt, white socks, and black sneakers. Her brown hair was pulled back with a pair of green barrettes and she was wearing gold earrings that were shaped like hearts.

"Still can't get over the change from your last cover," Stefan commented.

"Ugh! I hated being so good! I didn't even have a place go to blow off steam," Casey replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, that had to suck," Stefan agreed. Because of the fact that he and the others tended to drink animal blood or drink from blood bags, they were prone to get more agitated due to the blood's absence from the vein. To keep from completely losing it, they would once in a while go somewhere they weren't known and go on a feeding frenzy until they were satiated.

"Where's Sam?" Casey rolled her eyes again at the deflection but decided to answer the question.

"He's finishing up his homework. I was done long ago. But we have a date later."

"Keener."

"Deflector."

"Touché." Stefan chuckled, ducking his head the way he always did when he found something extremely funny. "I don't know what to do about Elena. I really like her, but how can I tell her I'm a monster?" he asked.

"I wondered the same thing when I first started getting interested in Sam. I did everything I could to deny it," Casey told him. Stefan fell silent. "But Katherine told me to go for it," she continued.

"But what about me being a vampire? Should I tell her?" Stefan queried.

"If you think you can trust her with our secret," Casey replied. "But Stefano, that's something better asked of Damone," she replied, her voice taking on an Italian accent, something that usually happened when she was having a serious discussion with her brothers.

"What's better asked of me?" Damon asked, coming into the room, Katherine by his side.

"Stefano's thinking of telling Elena about himself and us," Casey replied, still using their old dialect, causing the older boy to turn to his sister. _She must feel this is pretty serious_, he thought to himself. Yes, she had acquired a fondness for their Italian heritage, listening to the music, even learning the language with him and Stefan and learning to cook just like they had, but usually she would go straight into Italian, not speak it with an accent. She only did that for serious conversations, as weird as it sounded.

"Up to you, Brother. We have seen the two of you together and we know where it's going," Damon answered.

"By the way, where are Lexi, Pearl, and Anna?" Casey asked, switching back to her normal voice.

"They went house hunting," Damon replied.

"Ah," Stefan replied. "And Zach's at the garage," he recalled, mentioning their descendant's work as a mechanic.

"Well, I'm going to go, I've got a date with Sam and he should be done with his homework by now," Casey said and then left the house.

"And speaking of hunting, I'm getting hungry and I don't want blood bags. Let's go see if we can scrounge up a bear," Katherine said.

"Sounds delicious," Damon agreed and then they also left. Stefan let out an unnecessary breath. Okay, this was ridiculous. Everyone was okay with him telling Elena about them. What was he so afraid of? _This is crazy. I'm just going to talk to her_, he thought. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number. A few minutes later, he got through.

"Elena? It's Stefan. Could we meet? I really need to talk to you. Let's meet outside the Grill," he said. Then, he walked out of the Salvatore Boarding House. Meanwhile, across town, Pearl, Anna, and Lexi were looking at house that was being shown by a realtor named Patricia Saunders.

"Shouldn't Sam be here?" Anna asked as they looked around the establishment.

"He said he had a date with Casey and that whatever we picked out would be okay," Pearl answered.

"Well, it's got a big enough living room," Lexi commented.

"The spacious living room is only one of the house's attributes," Patricia stated. "We also have four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Plus it's close to Mystic Falls High. Of course, if it's out of your price rang-" Lexi, Pearl, and Anna laughed. If this woman only knew.

"We'll take it," Lexi and Pearl chorused. Before Patricia could ask anything, Pearl handed her a credit card, making sure that they were face-to-face.

"You won't question the amount on the card or raise any other objections," Pearl said, her eyes dilating. Numbly, the realtor repeated what she had said. "You'll let the transaction go through," she continued and again, the words were repeated. When she was satisfied, Pearl handed the card to the woman who dialed a number.

"What about her superiors? I mean, it's an awful lot of money and they'll be suspicious that we can afford it so easily," Lexi asked.

"Katherine already took care of it. She went to the bank when it opened this morning and compelled everyone there to accept the transaction," Pearl assured. Presently, Patricia came back.

"You're all set, Ms. Huang," she reported brightly.

"Great. Thank you very much," Pearl responded. While this was going on, at the Gilbert house, Grayson was holding a square gold ring that had a black rectangle in the middle with some kind of design in his hand. Presently, Jeremy came downstairs.

"What have you got there, Dad?" the boy questioned, coming to stand in front of him.

"Your ancestor Jonathan Gilbert's ring. It's been passed down from father to son for generations," the man answered.

"Wow. That's really cool," Jeremy said.

"My father gave this ring to me when I was about your age and I believe that it's time for you to have it," Grayson continued.

"Really?" Jeremy asked in surprise. _Wow. I-I…Wow_, he thought to himself. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His parents had always stressed the importance of the family heirlooms and how he and his sister wouldn't receive certain things unless it was the right time. Grayson handed Jeremy the ring and the boy slipped it onto his third finger. His eyes widened when the colors shone brightly before fading back to its original colors.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"The ring just confirmed to me what I thought: that it's chosen you as its wearer. If it hadn't, it would've shocked you and it won't work for anyone else," Grayson replied.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy questioned.

"This ring protects its wearer from death by anything Supernatural," Grayson answered.

"What?" Jeremy asked with a disbelieving laugh. What was his dad getting at?

"This family has grown up with the knowledge of the Supernatural, but I wanted to keep you out of it if I could. Unfortunately, that's not possible," Grayson told him. "Elena and I were saved by something Supernatural and there are others out there. This is the only way I know of to protect you," he continued.

"Thanks, Dad. This really means a lot to me," Jeremy stated. Then, "I'm gonna go meet Vicki. I'll see you later." Grayson let out a sigh and watched as his son walked out. _Well, he doesn't seem to be doing drugs anymore_, he thought to himself. And he should know. He had been watching his son for signs ever since he had found out he was doing pot. Meanwhile, Elena had met Stefan outside of the Grill and they had sat at one of the outside tables.

"You said you wanted to talk to me about something?" Elena asked.

"You remember when that man said he knew me from when he was a kid?" Stefan asked.

"Yeah, it was Tiki's grandfather," Elena replied.

"Well…he really **did** know me when he was a kid," Stefan told her. "I'm a vampire."

"Wait. What?" Elena couldn't believe her ears. A vampire? That was impossible. There was no such thing.

"Damon, Casey, and I-we were turned in 1864 by Katherine."

"The girl I look like. I've seen your brother hanging around her."

"Yes."

"Why do I look like her?" Stefan hesitated. How much should he tell her? Her head was already reeling from the fact that he was a vampire and he didn't want to overwhelm her.

"Katherine has a theory, but we haven't found anything to confirm it," he finally answered. Elena nodded. That made sense…not that any of this made sense. But in a way, she supposed it did.

"So…do you mind if I ask some questions?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"Ask away," Stefan invited.

"Do crosses, holy water, and garlic affect you, because obviously sun's not an issue," Elena said. "And what about mirrors?"

"Crosses are decorative, holy water's drinkable but it's disgusting and my siblings and I **love** garlic, and mirrors are a total myth," Stefan replied. "As for the sun, certain pieces of jewelry were spelled so that my family could walk around in the day. Most have a flower known as lapis lazuli within them, but there are a few that don't," he continued.

"Wow," Elena breathed. Then, "Have you ever used any of your powers on me?" Stefan shook his head.

"Your necklace is filled with an herb known as Vervain, which protects you from compulsion. It's also dangerous to me in that it weakens me if I touch or ingest it and it could possibly kill me," he told her.

"So, who did this necklace **really** belong to?" she wondered, touching the necklace and the boy smiled gently.

"My mother. What I told you when I gave it to you was true," he answered. Elena inhaled and exhaled sharply. This was a lot to take in. While all this was going on, Vicki and Jeremy had met up at the cemetery and were talking.

"How come we always end up in the cemetery?" Jeremy wondered out of the blue.

"Because it's quiet?" Vicki supplied.

"Yeah, I suppose. It's just weird coming here and not seeing any of our old friends," Jeremy commented.

"Yeah, I haven't had any drugs for a few weeks," Vicki added.

"Me neither," Jeremy stated.

"Every time I get a craving, I just call Matt or you," Vicki mused.

"And I call Dad, Elena, or Aunt Jenna," Jeremy murmured.

"So weird," Jeremy stated.

"Yeah, but I kind of like it. It feels good," Vicki mused.

"Yeah, it does," Jeremy agreed. She snuggled closer to him and he grinned. Vicki felt good in his arms. Back at the Bennett house, Bonnie was getting bored. There was nothing about the sealing spell in this book! She was about to throw the book down when something caught her eye.

"Grams, I think I found it," she declared.


	11. Decisions And Spells Part 2

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new take on things and any characters you don't recognize.

"Let me see," Sheila requested and Bonnie handed over the book she had been thumbing through. Sheila took the book and read one of the pages.

"You're right, Baby. This is it," Sheila confirmed.

"So what do we do?" Bonnie wondered.

"We go re-spell a tomb," Sheila replied, straightening her stance determinedly

"How do we do it?" Bonnie asked, mimicking her aunt.

"Well, I had wanted to wait until you were more in-tune with your powers for this lesson, but given the nature of what's going on, there's no time to waste," Sheila said as she headed for the door, her granddaughter at her heels. They got into the car and headed for the old Fell's Church.

"Grams, what lesson are you talking about?" Bonnie wondered.

"Using nature to channel your powers. This spell is going to take a **lot** of energy," Sheila replied.

"Grams…if this spell is going to hurt you…" Bonnie hesitated.

"Oh, don't you worry about that, Child. I'll just get us a little extra strength," Sheila declared, pulling out her phone and dialing a number. A few moments later, she got through.

"Damon, it's Sheila," she announced.

"Sheila, what can I do for you?" Damon wondered. Witches didn't usually ask for help from vampires so whatever was going on had to be pretty serious.

"The tomb's spell is weakening," Sheila reported.

"What?" Damon asked in shock. _This is not good. The creatures inside the tomb were all vicious killers. If they ever got out…_he thought to himself.

"Bonnie and I are going to strengthen the spell and make sure the tomb stays closed," Sheila continued.

"No way. That spell would take too much of your strength. It's too dangerous," Damon protested.

"Which is where my favor comes in," Sheila said.

"Anything. You know that," Damon promised.

"Now don't be too hasty," Sheila stated. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask if I could channel the essence of two vampires," she continued.

"I can't speak for any of the others, but of course you can channel mine," Damon responded.

"Thank you, Damon," Sheila stated.

"Of course. Let me talk to the others and then we'll meet you at the tomb as soon as possible," Damon said.

"Agreed," Sheila replied. Then they hung up. Almost immediately, Katherine-having heard the conversation-was at Damon's side as he dialed a number. At the Grill, Stefan was surprised when his phone went off. He pulled the device out of his pocket and looked at the number.

"Excuse me. It's Damon. Sorry," he apologized.

"No problem," she assured.

"What's going on?"

"The spell on the tomb is weakening and the Bennetts need to channel their energy from vampires for sources of strength." Stefan froze. The tomb could be re-opened? If that happened…_No! We can't let it!_ he thought to himself, trying to calm himself. Elena stared at Stefan who had gone rigid at whatever his brother had said. What was going on? Why did he look so frightened?

"Where are they?"

"They're heading for the tomb."

"I'll be right there." Elena watched as Stefan hung up, stood up, and started to leave.

"What's going on?"

"The Bennetts need two vampires for a spell."

"What do you mean?" As she asked the question, Elena felt her stomach tightening. Witches were supposed to be pretty powerful so if a spell required them to use the life-force of another creature, things had to be **really** bad.

"There was a tomb that a powerful witch named Emily had en-spelled, trapping many dangerous creatures inside. It's been that way since 1864. But now the spell's weakening and to recast it will require a lot of power," Stefan explained.

"Let's go," Elena stated, standing up.

"I can't let you come with me," Stefan told her.

"Bonnie's one of my best friends. We're Strikers and we stick together always and forever. Now Caroline's sick and Mayor Lockwood took Tyler out of town. So I'm going," Elena insisted. Stefan stared at her determination, her flashing eyes and ready stance reminding him even more of his Sire. Katherine wasn't one to be trifled with and from what he could see and smell, neither was Elena. He could smell the spark of awakening Power, threatening to come out at the thought of someone in danger.

"Okay, let's go," he agreed. With that, they headed for Stefan's car and Stefan drove to the graveyard where he knew the tomb was. _Please. Please don't let us be too late_, he thought to himself. If any of those vampires or other creatures got out, Mystic Falls would be in major trouble. And so would he. Within minutes, they were at the site and Stefan and Elena got out of the car and met up with Bonnie, Sheila, Damon, and Katherine.

"We only need to draw essence from two vampires, and Elena Dear, you shouldn't be mixed up in this," Sheila stated.

"A Bennett needs help, they get all that can be provided," Katherine responded.

"And Bonnie and I are Strikers. Always-" Elena began.

"And forever," Bonnie finished as she and Elena slapped their hands together and then squeezed them together.

"Okay then, let's do this," Sheila declared.

"Here. Take some of our blood. It'll make the connection stronger," Katherine stated as she and Damon each slashed a wrist. Sheila took Katherine's wrist and drank a sip of the flowing blood and Bonnie did the same with Damon. Sheila then grabbed Bonnie's hand and started chanting. Bonnie soon joined in, hesitantly at first, but then her voice grew stronger. Katherine and Damon each let out an inaudible grunt. Almost instinctively, Katherine and Damon reached out towards one another as Elena looked around suspiciously. There had to be something she could do. Inside the tomb, the creatures inside panted with frantic anticipation. They could feel the spell that held them here weakening. _Yes! If I get free, I can have Stefan Salvatore's descendants_, one vampire thought. The boy's blood had been **delicious** and he was sure that his descendants would taste the same. There was a rumble and the creatures looked at each other excitedly. Outside, everyone looked at each other as the shaking continued.

"Grams, what's going on?" Bonnie wondered.

"We don't have enough power to keep the tomb from opening," Sheila reported.

"You haven't taken from my essence," Stefan said.

"Oh, I think we're going to need a **lot** more than that," Sheila responded. Bonnie's necklace shone brightly and the girl gasped as she felt something enter her.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, starting for Bonnie. If something was about to hurt her, she'd fight it.

"Do not be alarmed. Your friend is fine. I have come to help," Bonnie replied in a clipped tone.

"Emily," Damon stated. Emily nodded in greeting. It was good to see the Salvatores and Miss Katherine again. And she was grateful that Damon had taken it upon himself to protect her line. She hadn't expected him to do so.

"Do you need any more of our essence?" Katherine queried. Emily began chanting as she clutched her talisman.

"I think that's a 'No'," Damon quipped softly. Inside the tomb, the creatures glanced at each as the shaking decreased. A vampire growled. He wasn't going to miss his chance to take one of Stefan Salvatore's offspring! He headed for the entrance and began to fight against the barrier as other creatures went to do the same. There were frustrated growls and exclamations as they were thrown back. The same vampire ignored the others and continued his effort to make it through the barrier. Outside, Emily/Bonnie and Sheila were still chanting even as the tomb shook. _Come on, let's get this over with. I don't know how much longer Damon and Katherine can hold out_, Sheila thought to herself. True vampires could withstand their essence being drawn longer than a human, but she didn't want to risk them any more than she had to. The tomb shook again and the vampire that had been trying to get past the barrier finally broke through and the door opened.

"Bonnie! The tomb!" Elena shouted just as three vampires jumped out. Almost immediately, Elena could feel electricity of power coming from her fingers. She wasn't going to let her home be destroyed. A great wind started and to everyone's surprise, two tree branches broke and then flew at two vampires, pinning them to the ground. Immediately, Damon jumped on top of one and ripped its head from its body as Katherine went through the same motions with the other vampire. Stefan's eyes widened as he stared at the last remaining vampire. _Stefan tried to struggle against the vampire's grasp as it sank its fangs in his neck, but to avail. When the vampire had had its fill, he dropped Stefan unceremoniously on the ground and then knelt in front of him._

"_You won't remember this. All you'll remember is that you went for a late night stroll and you were attacked by an animal," he intoned._

"_I went for a late night stroll and was attacked by an animal," Stefan repeated_.

"Stefan Salvatore," the vampire smirked. Well, **this** was unexpected. Stefan ran off just as the other vampire started for him and Katherine jumped up from her first victim and intercepted the attacking vampire by sticking her hand in his chest and grabbing his heart.

"Buh-bye," she smirked back, yanking the heart from the other vampire's chest. Damon stared in shock at his Sire. He hadn't seen her that ruthless in a long time. And why had Stefan run off? Before he could ask, there was a loud bang as the tomb re-closed and there was a bright light, causing the humans to shield their faces. When the light dissipated, they could hear the other creatures crying out in frustration. Bonnie and Sheila let out deep breaths and Damon and Katherine walked over to them in concern.

"You two okay?" Damon questioned.

"Fool. We should be asking **you** that," Sheila responded.

"We're fine," Katherine assured. "I'm going to go check on Stefan," she continued.

"I'm coming with you," Damon stated.

"Me too," the others agreed. With that, they headed off in the direction Stefan had run. Damon and Katherine reached him first.

"Stefan, what's wrong, Brother?" Damon queried.

"I'm-I'm sorry. That-that vampire," Stefan stammered.

"He's dead, Stefan. I ripped his heart out," Katherine told him.

"And I can make sure he is miserable for the rest of his afterlife," Emily promised.

"Thank you," Stefan responded.

"I don't understand what's going on here," Damon stated.

"That vampire that got out-it-it used to feed from me and then compel me to forget what was happening," Stefan admitted hoarsely.

"Then I found out, gave Stefan vervain, and the next time that loser tried to feed from him, it didn't work," Katherine continued abruptly. Damon's jaw dropped and his eyes flashed. A vampire had hurt his younger brother?

"How come I was never told this?" he demanded. _Someone hurts my brother I'm supposed to know so that I can protect him!_ he thought to himself.

"I-I begged her not to," his brother replied. "As far as I knew, it was the first time it had happened and I was embarrassed," he continued. "I mean…I knew that there were vampires around and I didn't do anything to protect myself."

"Oh, Brother," Damon murmured. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"And when he realized that he could longer feed from me, well…he decided I was better off dead," Stefan finished. Damon growled in anger.

"Calm down, Lover. I took care of it," Katherine assured.

"Now I must say goodbye," Emily told them.

"You take care of yourself, Emily," Katherine told her.

"And you take care of yourself, Miss Katherine. I will always be looking after you all," Emily promised and the vampires watched as the girl left her descendant's body. Bonnie groaned and Sheila quickly steadied her.

"What just happened?" she wondered.

"Come on, Honey. I'll take you home and explain everything there," her grandmother promised. With that, they all got into their cars and left the graveyard.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sheila got Damon's number from Zach and I made up the idea that a witch can use a vampire's essence if it was needed and they were willing.


	12. 162 Candles Part 1

162 CANDLES

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Takes place a few weeks after "Decisions And Spells". By now, Caroline and Tyler have found out that Stefan, Damon, Casey, Pearl, Anna, and Lexi are vampires and the group's known around town having been there for a while and Elena and Stefan have been dating for some time so he's been invited into the Gilbert home which will be important later on. I use some lines and a variation of a scene from the actual ep as well as some lines between Bonnie and Sheila from some earlier eps.

A dark black Cadillac made its way down the road, having finally made it to Virginia. The driver at the wheel smirked. His witches had finally come through for him and had found Katerina and her friends through a locator spell. The witches had also told him that the spell had indicated someone with a set of Powers. _Now that can only be my Doppelganger_, he thought to himself. The man was about 6'0 with light brown hair and hazel eyes. He was wearing a gray shirt and a pair of black jeans with a pair of black boots. He looked around as he headed down the road, looking for the entrance to Mystic Falls. Soon, he would be in town and he could put his plan into action. Meanwhile, at the Salvatore Boarding House, Stefan was in his room packing a suitcase.

"Almost done?" Lexi questioned.

"I have no clue. I mean, it'd be helpful if you guys told me **where** we're going," Stefan responded with some frustration. Lexi smirked. She knew it was driving her friend nuts that he didn't know where they were going, but that was the point of a surprise: that the person you were surprising didn't know what was going on.

"All you have to know is that you get to bring Elena," Lexi responded, walking into the room and coming to stand next to him.

"I "get to bring Elena"?" Stefan repeated. "It's my birthday, right?" he asked.

"Which is exactly why we should be partying right now!" Damon shouted from his own bedroom. Seriously, couldn't his little brother hurry it up? He wanted to party.

"But is Elena really ready to see how a vampire celebrates their birthday?" Casey asked from another part of the house.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with it," Anna responded from another part of the house. Pearl, Anna, Sam, and Lexi had decided to get ready at the Salvatore house to save time.

"Speaking of Elena, have you guys had sex yet?" Lexi questioned.

"No," Stefan replied. What kind of question was that? What kind of guy did Lexi think he was? He wasn't the Ripper anymore. He wouldn't just have casual sex with someone.

"What? Why not?" Lexi questioned. "You should totally rock her with your vamp sex. I'm telling you, she'll be yours forever," she continued.

"Lexi, this isn't about using compulsion or any of our other tricks. She has to want to be with me on her terms. I mean, we've only been dating for a little while now and I don't think she's ready for that step," Stefan told her turning so that they were facing. Lexi nodded.

"Okay. I getcha. I was the same way with Henry," she said, mentioning a man she had dated back in the seventies.

"Yeah. I'm sorry that didn't quite work out for you," Stefan said.

"I loved him, he loved me. Our love was epic, but he wanted to stay human and I respected that. Did it hurt when he died? Of course. But I know he died happy," Lexi stated. Stefan leaned over and gave her a hug. Lexi pulled back.

"Enough of this mushy stuff. Now finish packing," she instructed, lightly slapping him on the butt before walking away. Stefan let out a small scoff as he shook his head.

"Cute, Lex! Real cute!" he called. _The girl is nuts_, he thought to himself as he continued to pack. However, he knew not to say anything. Lexi was older and stronger than him and could kick his butt. Still shaking his head, he continued packing. In her own room, Casey and Sam were doing the same thing.

"So does Stefan suspect?" Sam asked in a quiet voice.

"Not a thing," Casey assured in the same tone.

"Good," Sam replied. When they were finally done, they put their duffels by the front door. One-by-one, Pearl, Anna, Lexi, Damon, and Katherine did the same. Zach came out of his room and came to look at the luggage.

"You guys need any help with these?" he called over his shoulder.

"No, it's fine. Go to the Council Meeting," Damon called back.

"Before you go, could you give me a hint as to where we're going?" Stefan asked from his room.

"Not a chance, Uncle Stefan!" Zach responded and then he headed out. Katherine let out an unnecessary sigh and then headed for Stefan's room.

"Get out. Get in the car. I'll finish packing you," she told him.

"Fine. Whatever," Stefan said and went do as she told him. Katherine went into Stefan's room and packed what the boy would need for the trip, taking out some of the clothes he had packed and replaced it with others. When she was finally done she grabbed Stefan's duffle and put it in the car with the other duffels. Then, they all got in and Damon started the ignition and then drove off in the direction of Elena's house. At her house, Elena had finally finished packing her duffel bag. She let out a small squeal. She couldn't believe Stefan had invited her to celebrate his birthday with him! They hadn't really been dating that long, so she hadn't expected to get the offer.

"So Kiddo, you excited?" Jenna questioned, appearing at the doorway of her niece's room.

"Yes," Elena answered. "I can't believe Stefan invited me to go on a road trip with him and the others and that Dad's okay with it," she continued.

"Yeah, I was a little surprised at that. But maybe it's because Damon and Katherine and their friends are the chaperones," Jenna commented.

"That's **exactly** why I agreed to it," Grayson stated, betraying the fact that he had eavesdropped on them. A few minutes later, they heard the honking of a car, causing Jeremy to come out of his room rand head for the stairs curiously.

"That's them! Later!" Elena said, hoisting the duffel bag over her shoulder and heading for the door. Jeremy quickly jumped out of the way as she barreled down the stairs, ran for the door, opened it, and then headed for the van.

"Oh, no. She's not excited at all," Damon said sarcastically.

"Good thing we decided to keep the van," Pearl chuckled.

"So, we are we headed?" Elena wondered as she buckled herself in. Stefan looked to the others expectantly.

"You'll see," Damon replied. Stefan's face deflated. Why couldn't the others just tell him where they were going?

"Let's just say we can safely blow off steam and no one will be the wiser," Katherine continued. Stefan and Casey froze and then glanced each other worriedly. For a vampire, blowing off steam meant going somewhere and indulging in a feeding frenzy.

"You sure she's ready to see that?" Stefan questioned in concern. _We'd be following our basest instincts. She'd see that I'm capable of being a monster_, he thought to himself.

"I…don't understand," Elena admitted.

"A feeding frenzy is when we allow ourselves to feed on humans and then compelling them to forget what's happening even as it's happening," Stefan told her, his face becoming shamed.

"If you're drinking animal blood or drinking from blood bags, why do you…?" Elena's question trailed off. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Stefan and the others had always seemed so nice, even though they were drinking blood. Even Damon had told her that they were always careful not to expose themselves by drinking from humans directly. Had it all been a lie? Were they actually more dangerous than they had led people to believe? Katherine looked over at Elena even as she smelled the confusion and fear coming from her.

"The animal blood and blood bags **do** satiate us, but because we don't drink straight from the vein like others of our kind, we can get a bit…edgy," she told her Doppelganger.

"So, once in a while, we allow ourselves to feed the normal way, and we're more…balanced," Damon added.

"Which helps us to blend in better in the long run," Stefan finished. Elena nodded. Strange as it seemed, that made sense. After all, they were doing their best to blend in, which included changing the way they fed, so of course they would need a way to be true to themselves.

"So the place we're going allows you to do this?" Elena queried and the vampires nodded. "Then I say, 'Bring the party on'," she continued and Stefan turned to stare at her in surprise. She was okay with this? How could she be okay with this? As if sensing what the younger boy was thinking, Casey unbuckled her seatbelt and walked up to him.

"You're wondering how she can be okay with this aren't you?" she asked in a voice only vampires could hear.

"Yeah," Stefan nodded.

"Well, I wondered the same thing when Sam became interested in me," Casey confessed. "I mean, all he wanted to do was protect me and keep me safe. He didn't care about what I was or how I survived and I have a feeling that Elena's going to be the same way," she continued. The girl in question stared at the two. What were they talking about? Then, Casey returned to her seat, only pausing long enough to pat Elena gently on the shoulder.

"By the way, why didn't you ask Matt?" Pearl asked Anna.

"I did, but he said he didn't feel right leaving Vicki all alone working while he went out and had fun," Anna responded and her mother nodded in understanding. She had seen how hard the girl worked and could understand the boy's reasoning. Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls, Sheila was working with Bonnie on a spell. Finally, Bonnie stopped what she was doing and let out a frustrated huff.

"What's the matter, Baby?" Sheila asked.

"Face it, Grams! I can't get it!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Now hold on! Don't you be giving up so fast!" Sheila chided. "You can get this, it just may take some time," she assured.

"Easy for you to say, you've practiced this for years and everyone knows you're a witch anyway," Bonnie stated.

"Yeah, but Baby, they don't really **believe**. They just think I'm the kooky old lady who teaches about the history of witches at Whitmore College," Sheila replied.

"Some people think you teach about the occult, you know, dark magic and all that," Bonnie told her. Sheila shook her head.

"Oh no, Baby. I don't mess with that kind of stuff. Going into the dark arts-that's nasty business-and it has bad consequences for witches. Using our Powers for our own gain, getting revenge, hurting or killing others, that kind of thing…it's a bad road and I don't want you going there," she replied.

"So you just basically use your Powers to help people?"

"That's what I try to do, yes." Bonnie let out a breath.

"It's so much to learn."

"I know, Baby." Sheila looked at her granddaughter sympathetically. "Why don't we take a break?"

"Fine by me." While this was going on, Vicki and Jeremy were walking in the town square, looking at the sites.

"You know, everything looks better when it's not through a drug haze," Vicki commented and Jeremy chuckled.

"I'll agree with that," he stated. Just then, one of their old friends, Tony Nichols, walked up to them.

"Hey Vick, Jer. Haven't seen you guys in a while," he noted.

"Yeah, I know. I can't speak for Vick, but I've just been concentrating on school and my family, and stuff like that," Jeremy replied.

"Yeah, same here," Vicki agreed.

"Well, I just got a good score. You want in?" Tony offered. Vicki and Jeremy glanced at each other, then back at Tony.

"No thanks," they chorused. Then, they walked off and Tony shook his head and gave a scoff before walking off. Vicki and Jeremy had gotten so lame lately. Well, it wasn't any skin off of his nose if they wanted to be losers. He had plenty of other buyers. Meanwhile, Jenna was diligently taking notes in her class at Mystic Falls Community College. She blew out a breath as the professor finally ended the class and then gathered up her belongings and headed for her next class.

"Jenna, hey!" a voice called.

"Hey, Andrea," Jenna grinned.

"On your way to English?" Andrea asked.

"Yep," Jenna confirmed.

"So, I've been pretty quiet on the subject for a while now, but...who's the hottie you've been hanging around?" Andrea wondered.

"Alaric Saltzman, my niece and nephew's history teacher," Jenna replied.

"Ohhhh! Even the **name**'**s** hot!" Andrea breathed and Jenna laughed.

"Well, he agreed to meet me here after English. Said he wanted to talk to me about something," Jenna told her.

"Sounds serious," Andrea commented.

"I'm hoping it's because he wants to ask me to the 50s Decades Dance that's happening in a couple of days," Jenna confessed.

"Ooooh, sounds fun," Andrea grinned.

"Yeah, it is. It's too bad you don't live here. You'd have a blast," Jenna commented.

"Well, I'm only going here until I can get enough money to afford a real college," Andrea stated. They headed for the room that held their English class. When they got there, they found a note on the door saying that the class was canceled due to an illness and to e-mail their finished assignments to him as well as reading the next chapters in their textbooks.

"Yeesh. Poor guy," Andrea commented.

"Well, I guess we do what he says," Jenna said. Well, now what she was supposed to do? Alaric wouldn't be here for another hour. Back with Stefan and the others, they had finally reached their destination-a club-and had walked in, the vampires using their compulsion powers to get Stefan, Elena, Sam, and Anna inside.

"Ready to party?" Stefan asked.

"Definitely," Elena answered. With that, they headed for the middle of the room and began dancing in time with the music. Damon and Katherine were pressed against each other, letting their arms roam around each other as they moved provocatively as Lexi and Pearl did the same with the men who had joined them. Sam, Casey, Stefan, and Elena were also dancing, though the four were dancing much more sedately, as was Anna who had also attracted a partner. Around them, other people were watching the dancers. They couldn't explain why, but they found themselves drawn to the group. Slowly, but surely, a few people inched closer. Sensing this, the vampires looked at one another as they felt their bloodlust rising. A man got closer to Katherine and Damon.

"Hey baby, mind if I cut in?" he asked as he angled himself in front of Damon.

"Instead of cutting in, why don't you join us?" Katherine suggested.

"Okay," the man agreed readily, not noticing when Katherine and Damon shared a smile. Elena looked at Stefan as the three started dancing together.

"How can they be okay with this?" she asked in confusion. _Though, I have to admit, it's kind of hot_, she thought to herself.

"It's part of what we were telling you about," he responded even as the others were joined. Smelling the heightened arousal from the girl, Stefan looked at her. Was she-seriously getting into this? A few minutes later, Damon made his move. Elena watched in fascination as blood trickled from his victim's neck as Katherine quickly compelled him to not care about what was happening. Almost as if it was a trigger, the other vampires bit into their dance partners and compelled them not to care what was going on, which continued for several minutes. Only Stefan hadn't joined in the melee.

"What's the matter, Brother? Don't feel like blowing of steam?" Casey asked.

"Unlike you all, I have a human girlfriend," Stefan responded. _There's no way she can actually be okay with this. But that's not what I'm smelling. If I went with smell, I could totally say she's into this_, he thought to himself. But that was impossible. They were acting like monsters. How could she be into it?

"Stefan, go ahead. It's fine," Elena assured.

"You sure?" Stefan queried.

"Go for it," Elena urged. She gave him a passionate kiss, running her fingers through his hair. Stefan moaned with longing, pulling his girlfriend closer. He could feel his bloodlust rising along with his own arousal at the girl's actions. Elena couldn't explain what was happening: as the other vampires continued their carnage, she could feel herself becoming more and more aroused. _But I don't understand. Why would this excite me?_ she wondered. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approaching them.

"Hey baby, how about a real man?" the man leered at Elena. She looked at Stefan and almost as if they had read each other's minds, they nodded.

"A real man sounds nice," Elena agreed, moving from Stefan and into the man's arms. Seeing this, the other vampires glanced at one another. If anyone deserved what happened, it was this guy. And with all of them at Elena's disposal, she'd be perfectly safe. Elena and the man danced and the girl had to fight not to rip the man's hands from her body. She didn't want anyone touching her but Stefan. The man chuckled smugly. He hadn't expected to find such a looker, but he wasn't about to complain. He let his hands roam, going lower and lower. Then, without warning, Stefan was at the man side and sinking his fangs into his neck. Then, he shoved the man to the ground.

"You okay?" he asked as Anna quickly bent down and compelled the man to forget what had happened and to just keep dancing with them.

"Fine. I knew I was going to be okay with all you guys here," she replied. Stefan went to wipe the blood from his face, but Elena quickly stepped forward and kissed him passionately, resulting in a noise of surprise. She was actually kissing him when he had blood all over his face? She pulled away.

"Do you have any idea how hot this is?" she queried.

"Hot?" he repeated. _She thinks this is hot?_ he thought to himself. Hearing this, Katherine smirked at Damon.

"She's **definitely** his mate. You were the same way," she told him. She had found out long ago that when a vampire met the person who was destined to be their mate, the person was either filled with a strong desire to protect the vampire or found whatever they did irresistible. Meanwhile, the man who had been heading for Mystic Falls finally reached the town. _Now then…where to find Katerina?_ the man thought to himself. Thanks to his witches, he knew that Katerina was once again residing here. He parked at a hotel and then headed for where he had seen the sheriff's station. Whoever worked there would be able to tell him where Katerina and the Salvatores were staying. His witches had been able to locate them in the town, but not where exactly in town they were. The man walked into the office.

"Hi. How can I help you?" the desk sergeant questioned.

"My name is Klaus and I'm looking for some old family friends: the Salvatores: Casey, Stefan and Damon," he answered in an English accent.

"They live with their uncle Zach at the Salvatore Boarding House," the desk sergeant replied.

"And where do I find that?" Klaus wondered. The man gave the address.

"But that won't do you any good. Their uncle Zach said that they went out of town to celebrate Stefan's birthday," he added.

"Well, I guess that's what I get for trying to surprise some old mates," Klaus chuckled. _Out of town? Well, I can easily persuade them to come back_, he thought to himself. All he had to do was find Zach Salvatore and injure him enough so that the other vampires would come running back. "Where can I find Zach?" he queried.

"This time of day he'd be at the auto shop, _Murders' Service Center_," the desk clerk replied again and then gave out the address.

"Thank you. Oh, you won't remember this conversation at all." After the man repeated what he had been told, Klaus walked out, got into his car, started the engine, and headed for the establishment. When he got there, he silently moved throughout the garage until he caught the scent that matched the Salvatores. _Here we go_, he thought to himself. All he had to do was bite him and then let him be found. Then the Salvatores and Katerina would come running back, eager to protect the town from a new vampire attack. He watched the man closely and his eyes darkened as another scent hit his nostrils. The man reeked of vervain. Okay, then. He could do this another way. Moving quickly, he grabbed Zach, twisting an arm around the man's back until it snapped. Then, he threw him against a wall, causing the man to grunt in pain as he slipped into unconsciousness.

"Zach?" a voice called. Klaus quickly disappeared from the shop, but lingered nearby, watching as another employee walked in. "Zach?" the man asked again. Then, his eyes widened when he saw the man. Calling his friend's name, he ran to him and shook him, trying to revive him. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and dialed a number. A few moments later, he got through.

"Liz, I need an ambulance at _Murder's Service_. Zach's been attacked," he reported. Klaus smiled. It was only a matter of time before the Salvatores would come back. Then, Katerina and the Doppelganger would be all his.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

The idea of the auto shop's name came from a real shop in my hometown and belongs to them. Part of my inspiration for this chapter came from "The Rager" when Elena and Damon went to Whitmore College.


	13. 162 Candles Part 2

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists and characters you don't recognize.

It had been a few hours since the vampires had started their spree and with every new attack, Elena had grown more and more aroused, until she and Stefan were practically bonded at the hip after he took a drink. Damon was in the middle of feeding when his cell phone went off. _What? Seriously?_ Damon thought to himself as he shoved his victim to the ground. Zach knew better than to interrupt a feeding frenzy. Unless…With a feeling of trepidation, Damon pulled out his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" he asked. He listened for a few seconds. "Yeah, this is Damon Salvatore," he confirmed. "What?" he questioned. At the tense tone, the group went rigid. "Yeah, we'll be right there," the man assured.

"What's going on?" Casey asked.

"Stefan, sorry to interrupt your birthday, but we gotta go back home," Damon stated.

"What's happened?" Stefan wondered.

"Zach's been attacked. He's in Mystic Falls Community," Damon replied.

"Let's go," Stefan stated.

"We'll take care of damage control and find a ride home. You guys go be with Zach," Pearl told them and Anna and Lexi nodded in agreement. Yeah, it'd be a bit harder with just the three of them, but they were filled with enough human blood that it shouldn't be too much of a problem. With that, Damon, Stefan, Casey, Sam, and Elena grabbed their things, went to the bathroom to clean up as best as they could, went to the van, and headed out, changing their clothes as they drove down the street. It wouldn't do for them to draw attention to themselves by staying in their bloody clothes. Stefan's eyes clouded as they headed for the hospital. Who could've attacked Zach? They were the only vampires in town…weren't they? Sensing his younger brother's worry, Damon glanced at Stefan.

"Don't worry, Brother. We'll figure out what happened," he assured.

"Stefan, your uncle's strong. I'm sure he'll be okay," Elena comforted. _Oooh, I wish I could help him_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, she's right. It'll take more than some random attack to bring down Zach Salvatore," Sam added and Casey smiled.

"Thanks," she said. When they finally reached Mystic Falls, they headed for the hospital, which they reached within a few minutes.

"Zach Salvatore, is he still here?" Damon asked when they had reached the desk.

"Yes, room 404," the desk clerk responded and they took off before the man could ask them anything.

"Uncle Zach?" Stefan queried, opening the hospital door.

"What are you guys doing here? You should be celebrating Stefan's birthday," Zach stated. _I know that they're called when stuff like this happens, but they didn't have to interrupt their frenzy_, he thought to himself.

"The hospital called us. Of course we'd come," Stefan replied, staring at the cast as he tried to keep his face human. Who had done this? Whoever it was, he'd kill them!

"What happened?" Damon asked in a quiet, controlled voice that brokered no argument as he placed a calming hand on Stefan's shoulder. Elena said nothing and hung back. _Maybe I should've gone home. This really doesn't concern me. But I want to be here for Stefan_, she thought to herself.

"This guy came out of nowhere-I didn't even get a good look at him. It all happened so fast," Zach responded. From the look of it, all three of them were having trouble keeping from vamping out.

"What is the extent of his injuries?" Casey queried.

"He has a broken arm and a slight concussion, so we'd like to keep him overnight," the doctor responded.

"Of course," the vampires chorused. That made sense. Part of keeping a low profile was letting things like this heal at the normal rate, though it would've been easier to just reset the broken arm and give him some vampire blood to heal the concussion.

"Do you mind if we talk to our uncle alone?" Damon questioned.

"Of course," the doctor agreed. Then he walked out and Damon closed the door.

"I'm gonna go see if there's anything in the vending machines. Do you guys want anything?" Elena queried.

"No. Thank you," Stefan responded and Casey, Sam, and Damon answered in a similar fashion. Elena nodded, shifted her purse over her shoulder, and the two went out into the halls and Damon closed the door behind her before turning to Zach.

"So, what really happened?" he queried.

"It happened just like I said: it was so fast. I heard a noise and then someone broke my arm and I was shoved against a wall," Zach responded. "I…don't even really know how I got here," he continued. Damon, Stefan, Casey, and Sam stared at one other. That didn't sound good.

"Well, I'm glad you're relatively okay," Casey said.

"Yes, I'm fine. Now **please** continue celebrating Uncle Stefan's birthday," Zach replied.

"Are you sure?" Stefan asked.

"Yes. Now go," Zach insisted. Reluctantly, the vampires left the room and went in search of Elena. They found her by a vending machine.

"Can't decide?" Damon asked.

"Well, I got here and rummaged through my purse discovering that I don't have enough cash," Elena answered. "And I wasn't sure if I should go back in. I mean, it's a family matter, but I wanted to be there for Stefan-and you guys, and-" Casey and Damon shared small smiles as the girl rambled on.

"I appreciate it," Stefan told her. "Well, Uncle Zach's fine and he's insisting that I continue celebrating my birthday, so what do you say we go to the Grill?" he continued.

"Stefan, I'm feeling a bit-bushed-despite our little frenzy. Do you mind if I skip the Grill?" Lexi queried.

"Are you okay? Did you get some bad blood?" Stefan asked in concern, moving closer to his old friend.

"I'm not sure. I think I should go home and get some blood from my supply," Lexi responded.

"We can look after her," Pearl quickly offered.

"Yeah, it's no problem," Anna added.

"That's a good idea. Sam, why don't you go with them?" Casey suggested.

"Yeah, sure," Sam agreed.

"Sounds good," Damon agreed and they went to the parking lot, got into the van, Damon started the engine, and they drove off down the road that led to the Salvatore Boarding House. Once there, they dropped off Lexi, Pearl, Anna, and Sam and then headed for the Grill. What they didn't know, was that the entire conversation had been heard by Klaus. He smiled to himself. Yes. His plan had worked wonderfully. Katerina and the Doppelganger were back in Mystic Falls where he had easy access to them. He would capture the Doppelganger, taste her a bit, and then use the rest of her blood to unleash his werewolf side. With another smile, he walked out of the hospital. Meanwhile, Jenna and Alaric had just come back from a movie in the Mystic Falls Cinema.

"Wow…I don't believe it. I've…**never** known anyone else who likes _Citizen Kane _as much as I do," Alaric commented. Well, that wasn't **quite** true. His wife Isobel had loved the movie as well. Isobel. With clouded thoughts, he stared down at the ring on his finger. It was a square gold ring that had a black rectangle in the middle with some kind of design. Following the man's gaze, Jenna was surprised to see the ring.

"That looks like the ring that Grayson just gave Jeremy," she noted. _Why would he have one? I thought the other one was given to John. Are there more than we thought_? she wondered. They were supposed to be family heirlooms.

"Really?" Alaric asked in surprise. That didn't make sense. Isobel had given him this ring. How could one of his students have a similar one?

"Yeah," Jenna nodded.

"Weird," Alaric commented.

"No kidding," Jenna agreed. They walked off and headed towards the Grill. Inside the diner, Logan was at a table, drinking a coffee. Presently, Vicki Donovan came up.

"Can I get you another coffee?" she queried.

"Nope," came the surly response.

"Can I get you a sandwich?" Vicki asked, ignoring the tone.

"No. Go bother someone else," Logan snapped.

"Fine. Whatever," Vicki said. "Someone's PMSing," she muttered as she headed for another table. If he wanted to be a grouch, let him. She had a job to do. Matt, having had seen the whole thing, walked up to his sister.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Ah, it's just Logan," she responded, waving a dismissive hand. Matty was sweet to be concerned, but anyone could handle Logan. He was basically harmless.

"I think you're about to get two more customers," Matt commented. Vicki turned to see Jenna and Alaric coming in.

"Oh, good…people I like," she sighed in relief. Jenna had always treated her fairly decently and Alaric didn't know her well enough to make a judgment.

"Hey guys. Just find a place to sit and I'll be with you in a sec," Vicki told them.

"We're not in any rush," Jenna said. Hearing her voice, Logan turned in his seat and then frowned when he saw her sit down at a booth with Alaric. _What does she see in him? He's boring and an outsider. We have a history. She should be with __**me**_, he thought to himself. Unaware of their one-man audience, Jenna and Alaric sat talking. Presently, Vicki brought them their menus.

"Can I start you guys off with a drink?" she queried.

"Diet Coke," Jenna answered. Vicki wrote down the order and then looked to Alaric.

"Root Beer," Alaric responded. Again, Vicki wrote the order down.

"It's coming right up," she promised. Presently, Stefan, Damon, Casey, and Elena came to the parking lot just as Tyler's car-a red Dodge Viper-pulled up. Everyone got out of their respective cars and headed up.

"Hey, I thought you guys were out of town celebrating Stefan's birthday," Caroline commented.

"We were, but we came back when we got a call that our Uncle Zach was attacked," Stefan replied.

"What? Is he okay?" Caroline and Tyler questioned.

"He has a broken arm and a slight concussion, but other than that, he's fine," Damon told them.

"What does that even mean 'slight concussion'?" Caroline wondered. "As far as I'm concerned, a concussion's bad news no matter how severe or little it is," she continued.

"Can't disagree," Damon stated.

"Hey, where's Bonnie?" Elena wondered.

"Oh, she's practicing some spells with Miss Sheila, but she said she'd meet us here in a few minutes," Caroline responded.

"Okay," Elena said. Then they all went in and headed for a table.

"To tell the truth, I am totally needing a night out with you guys," Tyler sighed as they sat down.

"Oooh, trouble with your dad again?" Elena asked sympathetically.

"I'll say. I mean, I may not know **exactly** what I want to do with my life, but I **do** know I don't want to be the mayor," Tyler replied.

"Sorry, man," Stefan said. Just then, a waitress came up.

"Hey, what can I get you?" she asked, only looking at Damon.

"Bourbon," Damon replied politely.

"Cokes for the rest of us," Tyler stated.

"Coming right up," the waitress promised. "Anything else, Damon?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Not gonna happen. I have a girlfriend," Damon told her, turning so that he was now facing the others.

"I'm sure we can be **very** discreet," the waitress insisted coquettishly as she placed a hand on his arm.

"I believe my boyfriend just told you 'No'," a voice snapped. The waitress turned around to see Katherine glaring at her, Bonnie staring at the waitress disapprovingly, and Matt standing there uncomfortably.

"Whatever. You're all lame," the waitress scoffed and then walked away.

"Bon! Hey!" Caroline greeted, hugging her friend, resulting in a laugh from the other girl. That's what she loved most about her friend, that she always greeted you enthusiastically; no matter how short of a time you had been apart.

"When did you guys get here?" Elena wondered.

"A few minutes ago. The others were bushed so they decided to stay home," Katherine responded.

"How'd the practice go?" Caroline asked.

"Hard. But Grams has been real patient," Bonnie replied.

"Well, that's good," Katherine stated, as she and Bonnie sat down.

"You know, have you ever wondered why we look exactly alike?" Elena asked Katherine.

"You know, I don't know the reason. Maybe we're long lost twins," Katherine replied.

"That would be cool," Elena smiled. She and the girl got along really well and Elena had always wanted a sister. As the others continued to talk, Damon's attention was caught by a familiar necklace hanging around Bonnie's neck. He had seen her wear it before and recognized it as Emily's.

"Nice necklace. Heirloom?" he queried.

"Yeah. It belonged to one of my ancestors-Emily Bennett," Bonnie responded.

"Well, don't you be letting anyone take that from you," Damon cautioned.

"Grams said something similar," Bonnie mused. _So weird_, she thought to herself.

"And she's absolutely right," Katherine declared. Bonnie, Tyler, Caroline, and Elena looked at one another. _Bonnie's getting pretty good with the magic_, Tyler thought.

"She sure is," Caroline agreed.

"What?" the others asked.

"Bonnie. She's getting good with the magic," Caroline replied. _Well, it's nice of her to say so, but that was kind of random_, Bonnie thought.

"I'll say it was random," Elena stated.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on here? Bonnie didn't say anything," Matt said in confusion. _What's going on here? Are we going crazy?_ Elena wondered as she looked around at her friends, each of them wearing the same expression of nervousness and slight fear.

"I don't know. Maybe. Does craziness come with knowing what other people are thinking?" Bonnie wondered. _Wait. Knowing what people are thinking? We had this power in junior high_, Caroline thought.

"Oh, my gosh. You're right, Car. We got our telepathy back," Tyler gasped in realization.


	14. 162 Candles Part 3

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists and characters you don't recognize. I use a line from the actual episode.

"Wow. That is so cool," Elena laughed. _I can't believe it. All of our powers are finally coming back_, she thought to herself.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Caroline squealed. _I know, right? We're all connected again, I love it!_ she thought.

"Yeah, it's nice being connected again," Elena agreed. **Don't you guys agree?** she wondered. **Oh yeah**, she heard Tyler, Caroline, and Bonnie agreed.

"Is there a way to turn it off?" Matt wondered. Caroline, Tyler, Bonnie, and Elena turned to stare at one another.

"Oh, that's a good point," Caroline murmured. **No offense, but I don't want you guys in my head twenty-four-seven**, she thought.

"None taken Car," Tyler assured.

"We can talk to Miss Sheila. She might have some ideas," Elena suggested.

"Right," Bonnie, Caroline, and Tyler agreed. Then, they became aware of a commotion.

"I don't believe this! How could you do this!?" a girl shouted. They all turned in the direction as Tiki stomped away from a boy.

"Look, you said you needed a new outfit, so I got you a new outfit," the boy defended himself as he followed her. **Really? That's what they're fighting about?** Elena asked. **Seriously****, I'm**** not even that bad**, Caroline agreed and Elena, Tyler, and Bonnie laughed causing the others to stare at them in confusion.

"From a thrift store!" Tiki shouted. "Everyone knows that I would never wear second hand clothes! Some boyfriend!" she sniffed. She couldn't believe she had been dating him for three weeks. He was such a loser. She let out a huff and continued on her way, not even noticing when a waitress began heading her way until they bumped into each other, causing the waitress to spill her drinks and the other patrons to turn and stare.

"Whoa. Clean up on aisle seven," Vicki joked.

"Great. Can't you even watch where you're going?" Tiki snapped

"Me? What about you?" the waitress snapped back. As they continued to argue, Elena and the others rolled their eyes and turned back to each other.

"So much for my bourbon," Damon said.

"She'll just refill the order," Katherine comforted.

"Well, I'm not really seeing what Tiki's problem is. She wanted something and her boyfriend got it for her," Tyler commented.

"That's so typical of you men…always resolving issues. Even though it can be a sweet gesture, sometimes we just want you to listen," Caroline stated. _Well hey, it's not my fault men are problem solvers_, Tyler thought to himself.

"Tyler!" Elena, Caroline, and Bonnie chorused reaching over to smack him with a menu, resulting in an exclamation from the boy.

"Geez!" he mumbled. He hoped Bonnie's grandmother was able to figure out a way for them to shut each other out or he'd constantly be in trouble with the girls. Meanwhile, the waitress had gotten refills on the orders and was heading to the table. When she got there, she gave them their orders.

"Damon, is there anything else I can do for you?" the woman asked.

"I think we're all ready to order now," Damon told her. The others nodded and ordered various meals.

"Oh, by the way, it's my brother's birthday, so why don't you get him a _Miller's_ but give it to me so that we don't get into trouble?" Damon added. The waitress nodded, flashed Damon an enticing smile, and then walked away.

"Oh boy…I don't think I've seen suspects on _America's Most Wanted_ that are that wanted," Stefan quipped and everyone laughed.

"And speaking of _America's Most Wanted_, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Brother?" Casey queried.

"It's Stefan's birthday, it was ruined, this salvages it," Damon responded.

"My brother's answer to fixing everything: booze," Stefan stated and everyone laughed. Presently, the waitress came back with their orders and placed it on the table.

"If you need anything else-" she started to say to Damon.

"I won't," Damon agreed. "So don't ask me again," he stated, looking her straight in the eyes and letting his pupils dilated, which went unnoticed by everyone but his fellow vampires. The waitress nodded and then walked away.

"Whoo, I'm glad **that**'**s** over with," Damon stated, letting out a sigh as he and the others began eating.

"And I'm glad it's quiet again. I haven't heard Bonnie, Caroline, or Elena in a while," Tyler commented.

"You know, he's right," Caroline agreed.

"What a relief," Elena and Bonnie sighed and Caroline and Tyler nodded in agreement. Though they were glad to have all of their powers back, being in each other's heads all the time would've been a little annoying. Damon made a show of opening the beer can and taking a drink before he surreptitiously handed it to Stefan who took a drink. _Well, I gotta admit-Damon was right. This is __**exactly**__ what I needed_, he thought to him. Not that the beer made up for Zach being attacked and hospitalized, but the liquid felt good going down his throat. Hearing the waitress' footsteps, Stefan quickly handed the beer to Damon who made a show of taking a drink. **Sorry to be stealing your drink, Brother**, Damon apologized. **No problem. Gotta keep up appearances**, Stefan responded.

"Is everything okay?" the waitress queried professionally.

"Terrific," Caroline responded and the others made noises and statements of agreement.

"Great. If you need anything else, let me know," she said and then went to her other tables. The group continued to eat. At their own table, Alaric and Jenna were talking quietly.

"So, uh…before I forget…there's this dance that I have to chaperone-" Alaric began to say.

"The Fifties Decades Dance. Yeah, I know it. Grayson's also chaperoning," Jenna interjected.

"Well, I'm still relatively new here, and I don't know anyone all that well and I was wondering-" Alaric continued.

"Yes!" Jenna exclaimed. Then, "Oh! You **were** asking me to go with you, right?"

"Yes…I was," Alaric confirmed.

"I would love to go with you," Jenna told him.

"Great," Alaric chuckled. _Wow. I can't believe she actually said yes_, he thought to himself. He had been so nervous. What if she had said no instead? Jenna laughed in relief. _Yes! He asked me! I can't believe he really asked me!_ she thought to herself. He could've asked anyone to be his date. When Stefan's group was finally done, they all pulled out a certain amount of cash, laid it out on the table.

"So, what's the plan?" Tyler wondered.

"Well, it's still Stefan's birthday and we haven't done presents or cake and ice cream yet. So, we're going to do that," Damon replied.

"Cool. Have fun," Tyler stated.

"Will do," Stefan said and they all went to the parking lot and they all went to their cars, put the keys in the ignitions, and Stefan, Elena, Katherine, and Damon headed in one direction while Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie went in another direction. Damon continued down the street towards the Salvatore Boarding House, and once he was finally there, he parked the car and they went to the parlor where Lexi, Pearl, Anna, and Sam were waiting.

"So, this is what you were doing?" Stefan asked, looking at the decorations and stereo.

"Yep. Casey didn't want to bail on you so she sent me to help," Sam responded.

"You little sneak," Stefan accused fondly. Casey shrugged and flashed him a smile.

"What can I say, Brother? I'm good with surprises," Casey responded.

"Enough talk! Bring out the cake!" Anna encouraged and everyone laughed.

"I'll get it," Pearl offered and then went into the kitchen and a few moments later, she brought out a plate of Strawberry Cheesecake and set it on the table. Everyone else sang the customary song and then Pearl took the knife that was on one side of the plate and cut large slices of the cake, handing the first one to Stefan before handing other slices to the rest of the group. Stefan took a bite and then others followed suit.

"Mmm…is that actual strawberries I taste?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Yeah. It's one of the better perks of becoming a vampire: any allergies you had as a human are nullified after the change," Stefan responded.

"That's pretty useful," Elena commented. _So if I was ever turned, I wouldn't be allergic to peanuts anymore_, she thought to herself.

"It **is**. I gotta say that it was nice to finally be able to eat a strawberry after fifteen years," Stefan agreed.

"You were allergic to strawberries?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad found that out when I was like two I think," Stefan answered.

"Yeah, he had a reaction much like yours when you accidentally had that peanut cake," Damon recalled.

"Oooh…I bet that scared your parents half to death," Elena sympathized.

"Yeah, it did," Damon confirmed. Then Lexi walked up to the stereo, turned it on, and then turned on the c.d. portion of the player.

"Bon Jovi! Yes!" Stefan cheered.

"Wanted: Dead Or Alive," Casey chimed in.

"It's our theme song," Lexi grinned. Elena laughed, put her plate down, walked towards Stefan and began pulling him away from the others.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Stefan questioned, barely having a chance to put his own plate down.

"Come on, let's dance!" Elena encouraged.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I don't dance," Stefan protested.

"Yes he does!" Lexi exclaimed.

"Traitor," Stefan threw over his shoulder.

"Come on. Just one little dance?" Elena enticed. "It **is** Bon Jovi," she reminded. Stefan gave a little sighing laugh and finally gave in. The others laughed and then joined the two and started dancing.

"Happy birthday, Stefan," Elena said. He smiled as the girl laid her head on her shoulder. Then, he put an arm around her and held her close. He could honestly say that despite the attack on their descendant, this was **definitely** one of the best birthdays he had ever had. After all, he was spending his birthday with the girl he loved. What could be better?

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Usually telepathic speech is in bold but with Caroline, Elena, Bonnie, and Tyler they weren't technically talking to each so it was just italicized. And because in AOTYS, Casey was mainly on her own, I didn't have mental speak for vampires, though I'm adding it here now.


	15. Unpleasantville Part 1

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists and characters you don't recognize.

Stefan let out an unnecessary breath as he headed for Elena's locker. He couldn't believe he was feeling so nervous. He and Elena had been spending a lot of time together and they even had gone on a couple of dates. Heck, she had seen him following his natural instincts and had been turned on. _Come on, Stefan. You can do this_, he coached himself. After all, his parents had given him the best education and coaches for this sort of thing, though he doubted that they had been expecting him to use it in the twentieth century. At her locker, Elena's mind was also on the upcoming dance. _How come he hasn't asked me yet? Doesn't he want to go with me?_ she thought.

"Elena?" At the sound of his voice, Elena turned around.

"Hey. How are you?" she asked, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Good. Good. Just finished the Grisham novel you gave me," he replied.

"Already?" she queried.

"Well, I told you I enjoy a good Grisham," he defended, causing her to laugh.

"Yes, you did," she agreed. _Looks like I did pretty well in choosing a birthday gift for him_, she thought to herself. She could hardly believe she had been so nervous about it. But then again, he was her boyfriend and buying gifts for a boyfriend was different than just buying a gift for a friend.

"Listen, I know this is last minute, but…would you like to go the Decades Dance with me?" he asked. She wrapped her arms around him, knocking him back into a locker.

"I guess that's a 'yes'," he chuckled.

"I've been waiting for you to ask me for two days," she told him, slapping him lightly on the back of his shoulder. He chuckled again and gave her a kiss. "I mean, everyone else has already gotten asked: Vicki, Anna, Casey, Caroline, Katherine-" she continued.

"Okay, okay, okay. I get your point," Stefan interrupted. "But you're the first girl I've actually cared about in one hundred and forty-six years. I was nervous about asking you," he told her.

"**You** were nervous?" Elena questioned teasingly.

"As hell," Stefan confirmed. Elena laughed and kissed him again, pressing her body against his and letting her hands roam around his upper body. Then, she pulled away.

"**We** are about to be late and will have to finish this later," she told him, causing the boy to groan in frustration.

"You're mean. You're a mean, mean girl," he accused. Elena laughed and they headed for their homeroom. Once there, Elena sat down next to Caroline.

"So, did you get asked?" Caroline questioned quietly.

"Yep. Just now," Elena answered and Caroline squealed softly.

"This is great! Now we're all going!" she celebrated.

"Who's Bonnie going with?" Elena asked.

"Josh Hendricks," Caroline replied, mentioning one of the football players.

"Nice guy," Elena mused.

"Yeah," Caroline agreed. **But so boring**, she added to Elena, causing her friend to smile at the familiar presence in her mind.

"You're mean," the other girl said. **Even if you ****are**** right**, she added silently and they laughed softly. Then Caroline pulled out of Elena's mind and they focused their attention on making sure they had all their homework in the proper folders. After their homeroom, they headed out to history. In the class, Alaric tried to concentrate, but found that he couldn't. _Oh, Isobel_, he sadly thought to himself. He missed her so much. It wasn't fair that she had been cut down so early in life. They had barely gotten a chance to have a life together. _Alaric held Isobel in his arms._

_ "Ric," she whispered, reaching up towards his face._

_ "Hey, Hey, hey, hey. Hold on, you're going to be okay," he assured, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. _

_ "Ric, I just got attacked by a vampire," Isobel reminded._

_ "You also just got saved by one…whoever he was," Alaric pointed out._

_"You heard him, Ric. He can only make me comfortable. I'm still going to die," Isobel told him. "At least…I'm with you," she continued with a soft and sad_ _smile._

"Mr. Saltzman?" a voice questioned. Alaric blinked.

"What?" he queried.

"Ric, are you all right?" Stefan asked in concern. Not that the man smelled wrong or anything, but he was certainly preoccupied with something.

"Uh, I-no. My head's not in the right space to be teaching you guys today. I'm sorry," Alaric apologized. _I can't believe I zoned out on them!_ he berated himself. What had he been thinking? He knew he wasn't going to be in any shape to do his job today so he should've called in sick. Instead, he had come and had wasted his students' time.

"Is there anything we can do?" a student asked.

"No. Thank you," Alaric replied. "Look, why don't you all just head on out early, review the last chapter, and be prepared to discuss it tomorrow?" he suggested.

"You got it," the students agreed and they gathered up their belongings. Stefan, Elena, Matt, Anna, Caroline, Tyler, and Bonnie stuck behind.

"Ric, are you sure you're okay?" Elena queried.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Thanks," Alaric answered.

"Okay," the kids said. Then they headed out.

"Oh, uh, Elena, do you know if Jenna has a date for the Decades Dance yet?" Alaric questioned. Caroline and Tyler stifled their laughs as Bonnie put her finger on her lips, shushing them.

"She's been asked, but she hasn't said yes yet. I think she's waiting for you to ask her," Elena responded.

"Really?" Alaric asked in interest. **I can't believe he hasn't picked up the signals yet! Jenna's ****so**** into him!** Caroline commented. **I know!** Bonnie and Elena replied. **Guys, be nice**, Tyler scolded. Matt, Anna, and Stefan looked at one another. Ever since Bonnie, Caroline, Elena, and Tyler had realized that they could communicate telepathically, it seemed like they were doing it every chance they got.

"Yeah. You should ask her," Elena encouraged. Then, they went on, each trying to stifle their laughter. Alaric shook his head. Kids had it so easy sometimes. For them, the worst thing they'd have to worry about was possibly running into an ex at the dance. But him…he wasn't sure if he was ready to move on from Isobel. Sure it had been a year, but the pain was still great. Still…he had to chaperone the dance and it would be more fun with a date. _Maybe I __**should**__ ask her_, he thought to himself. The worst thing that could happen would be that she would say no. Out in the halls, Matt placed his arm around Anna who leaned into the gesture.

"I'm so glad you asked me to be your date to the dance," she said.

"I'm glad you said yes," he responded and they laughed. Meanwhile, at _Pearl's Drugstore_, Pearl and Katherine had finished with a customer and were taking a break.

"It feels **so** good to finally be doing this," Pearl stated in satisfaction. _I can't believe I had to wait all this time_, she thought. It had taken them a lot of years before they could return to Mystic Falls and now that they were finally home again, she couldn't be happier.

"Yeah, this is what you wanted to do since 1864," Katherine recalled with a soft smile. _I know it was hard on her having to wait all this time_, she mused. Not that her friend had ever complained, but…she knew the other vampire had been disappointed when they had been forced to leave.

"And when she's not in school, Anna's working at the public library with Lexi, so she's completely happy," Pearl added.

"That's great," Katherine approved. _Anna's always loved books, so working at the library's perfect for her_, her thoughts continued. "Speaking of your daughter, has she been asked to the Fifties Decades Dance yet?" she continued.

"Yes. The Donovan boy asked her," her friend replied.

"Excellent. I'm sure she'll have a lovely time," came the response.

"And what about you? Has Damon asked you yet?" Pearl teased.

"As a matter of fact, he has. He signed up to volunteer when they needed extra chaperones and Zach was already on the list as Stefan's legal guardian," Katherine explained.

"Katherine, be careful. There's already been some talk as to why you and Elena look exactly alike," Pearl cautioned.

"Well, that won't do," Katherine commented. The last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble for her descendant. The whole point of making contact with Elena had been to make her wary, get her curious so she would be alert and move to protect herself if need be. After all, even if Klaus hadn't found them yet, it didn't mean that he wasn't still looking. As if sensing her friend's thoughts, Pearl placed a hand on Katherine's wrist.

"I would not worry too much. It has just been mere speculation so far…some theories are plausible, and others are **definitely** not," she said.

"Oh? And what are these theories?" the other woman asked, sounding curious despite herself.

"Well, one is that you and Elena are long lost twins," Pearl replied.

"Well, that one might have been started by me. I suggested it to Elena at the Founder's Party. Someone may have overheard me," Katherine commented.

"True. Another theory is that you're an alien replicant," Pearl said, causing Katherine to laugh. An alien replicant? Who had come up with that one? She rather liked it. Not that anyone would seriously believe it, but it was pretty funny.

"So, why don't you come to the dance with us?" Katherine invited.

"Katherine, it's a school sanctioned party and they already have all the chaperones they need," Pearl reminded.

"So? Come on. It'll be fun," Katherine enticed. Pearl hesitated for a moment and then laughed.

"Fine. I'll come," she agreed.

"Good. I win," her friend grinned and the other vampire rolled her eyes. Then, another customer came in and their conversation came to a close. While all of this was going on, Jenna had finished her morning classes and was heading back to Grayson's house. _I really need to get my own place. This isn't really fair to Grayson_, she thought to herself. Grayson had really done her a huge favor by allowing her to move in after Miranda's death, and she didn't want to impose on him further. She blew out a breath as she walked into the house.

"Grayson?" Jenna asked. However, there was no answer. _Huh. Looks like I beat him home for once_, she thought walking towards the living room. Seeing the light flash on their answering machine, she walked up and pressed the button that would play the message.

"Hey guys. I just found out that I'm going to be tied up at work so I'm going to have to meet you at the dance," Grayson said. _Awww…poor Grayson. I know he would've wanted to get pictures of Jeremy and Elena_, Jenna thought. Well, she'd just have to get them for him. Then, she placed her backpack on the couch and pulled out a textbook. She could at least get some studying in before her next class in a couple of hours and she'd still have time to catch a bit of the Decades Dance. It was perfect. She had just settled down with her psychology book when her cell phone rang. Grumbling a bit, she grabbed her phone from her pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, Jenna," Alaric greeted.

"Ric," Jenna smiled. The woman's stomach fluttered. She **still** couldn't believe the man could make her feel this way when they were still getting to know each other. "Why are calling right now? Are Jeremy and Elena all right?" she checked in concern.

"No, no, no, no. Nothing's wrong. They're both fine," Alaric hastened to assure. "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just on my and I wanted to ask you something before I lost my nerve," he continued.

"What'd you want to ask me?" Jenna asked.

"Uh-would you like to go the Decades Dance with me?" Alaric asked.

"Yeah, I'd love to," Jenna replied. _I can't believe he asked me!_ she thought to herself.

"Great. I'll come pick you up in a couple of hours," Alaric stated.

"That'd be great," Jenna agreed.

"Gotta go. See you later," Alaric said.

"See you," Jenna agreed and they hung up. She returned her attention back to her textbook and started reading. Then-her eyes lit up and she squealed in excitement as her body rocked back and forth as she hit the couch with her legs. Alaric had just invited her to the Decades Dance! _I can't believe it!_ she thought to herself. She felt like a little kid. She then took a deep breath. She had to calm down. She needed to study. But how could she study? Alaric had just asked her out! She had **never** gotten this excited about a date before, not even when she had been dating Logan. She squealed again and clapped her hands together. At the _Mystic Falls Public Library_, Lexi was stocking shelves. As she did so, her mind wandered to the upcoming dance. She let out a soft smile. She had **loved** the fifties. It was too bad that it was a school sanctioned party and that she hadn't been invited. Then she let out a scoff. When had she ever let something like **that** stop her? Besides, it wasn't like she would crash to cause trouble. She just wanted to party with her friends. With that, she smiled and danced a few beats to music only she could hear. She **would** go to the dance and she would have a ball. Meanwhile, back in Mystic Falls High, Jeremy and Vicki were laughing and talking on their way to their classes.

"You know, I **still** can't believe you agreed to go to the Decades Dance with me," Jeremy stated.

"Oh, and why is that?" Vicki wondered.

"Well, given the fact that you were so against people knowing about us a couple of months ago…" Jeremy said, his voice trailing off.

"Well, that was then. This is now. And I like calling you my boyfriend," Vicki replied. Just then, they caught site of Tony who was seen passing something to a boy who gave him a wad of cash.

"Wow. Right in the halls. Gutsy," Jeremy commented.

"I'll say," Vicki agreed. "You ever wonder why we're no longer interested in getting high?" she asked.

"Yeah. I mean, at first, when I got a craving, I called Elena, Dad, or Aunt Jenna. But now…it's been weeks since I've even **had** a craving," Jeremy responded. _I don't get it. I mean, I like it, but I don't understand what's going on_, he mused.

"Yeah. Same here," Vicki said. _It's so weird. But on the other hand, my relationship with Matty is stronger than ever_, she thought to herself. Presently, they were at the entrance of Vicki's last class-math.

"Ugh. I hate math," she complained.

"Well, the sooner you go in, the sooner it's over," her boyfriend reminded.

"True," she grinned. He kissed her on the cheek and she went into the room. Jeremy chuckled as he headed for his own class. He couldn't **wait** until tonight. It was going to be a blast. What no one knew; was that Klaus was in the house he had procured for himself through killing the owner-whose name he hadn't even bothered to get-and was plotting his next move. He had kept himself relatively hidden only making contact with the townspeople when had to and discovered that there was a big dance tonight. Klaus' lips curved into a smile. This dance would give him the perfect opportunity to capture the Doppelganger. Then he would gather up the other ingredients he needed and would unleash his wolf side and Mystic Falls and the world would be his…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

So, if anyone-like me-was confused by the writers saying that Stefan and Damon had been around for about one hundred and forty-one years and then saying that Stefan was turning one hundred and sixty-two in Season One, it's simple. They took the amount of time the Salvatores existed and added it by Stefan's human age.


	16. Unpleasantville Part 2

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists and characters you don't recognize. I use a flashback and a scene from the actual show as well as lines from "162 Candles". Bold is telepathic speak.

A few hours later, everyone was back at Mystic Falls High, talking, dancing, laughing, eating, and otherwise mingling. Over at the refreshment table, Elena was trying to figure out what she wanted. She was wearing a white blue fifties style shirt, a pink fifties scarf, a pink poodle skirt, white socks, and fifties style white shoes, fifties style pearl earrings, a pink fifties style bracelet, and her hair was brushed straight and covered by a white fifties style headband.

"Can't decide?" a voice questioned. She turned to see Stefan who was wearing fifties style light blue jeans, a white shirt, covered by an old-fashioned letterman's jacket, white socks, black fifties style tennis shoes, and his hair had been styled in the cut of the times.

"Nope," she answered.

"Well, it's all safe. No peanuts or any other nut products," he assured.

"Yeah, the refreshment committee's always been really good at screening food," she stated. She then grabbed a cookie and bit into it as Stefan procured a small cupcake. Then, they walked away.

"You look good by the way," Elena commented.

"Thanks. I just can't believe I actually still had these," Stefan responded and Elena laughed.

"I get the feeling that you being a vampire is going to come in handy at these Decade Dances," she stated.

"There's more?" he queried.

"There's a couple every year," she replied and he groaned, resulting in a laugh from the girl. Hearing this, Anna laughed.

"What's so funny?" Matt wondered. He was wearing a simple outfit of a fifties style white t-shirt with fifties style dark blue jeans, fifties style black socks, and fifties style black boots.

"Nothing. I'm just happy to be here with you," Anna replied. She was wearing a fifties style yellow blouse with a blue poodle skirt, fifties style white socks, and fifties style black dance shoes.

"Well, I'm happy to be here with you too," Matt responded. Hearing the conversation, Sam and Casey looked at each other and shared secret smiles. Sam was wearing a fifties style gray grey shirt covered by a fifties style black leather jacket with black fifties style black jeans, white fifties style socks, and black fifties style shoes and his hair was slicked back in a fifties style greaser haircut while Casey was wearing a purple fifties style blouse covered by a fifties style pink satin jacket, fifties style blue denim jeans, fifties style white socks, and fifties style black loafers and her hair had been ratted and teased into curls.

"So, this must be bringing back some memories," Sam muttered.

"Yeah, I was a cheerleader back then. And Stefan was on the football team. We had a blast," Casey responded. Meanwhile, Damon was leaning against the wall, watching the students.

"Bored, love?" Katherine queried, coming up beside him. The two of them had somewhat coordinated their outfits and Damon was wearing a white t-shirt covered by a fifties style black leather jacket, dark blue fifties style jeans, and black fifties style biker boots while Katherine was wearing dark blue fifties style denim jeans, a fifties style purple blouse covered by a fifties style black jacket, black socks, fifties style white shoes, and her hair had been teased and ratted into curls.

"A little. But it's to be expected. I'm only a chaperone after all," Damon replied.

"Well…I could always go get a little Sneaky Pete to get this party started," Katherine said, leaning into Damon and walking her fingers on his arm enticingly. He laughed softly.

"That's not very chaperone-like," he scolded, cupping her chin in his hand and then leaning down to give her a kiss, which resulted in a laugh from his Sire. Hearing this from across the room where she was talking to some other parents, Pearl rolled her eyes. Leave it to Katherine and Damon to really get into their costumes.

"So Pearl, why are you here? We already have all of the chaperones we need," a woman stated.

"With a crowd this size, you can't really have too many chaperones," Pearl stated. Besides, she wanted to see her daughter having a good time. She liked it when Anna was happy and Matt Donovan **definitely** made the girl happy.

"Well, that's true," the woman agreed. Meanwhile, Casey and Sam were already on the dance floor and Casey let herself get lost in the music.

"You must've really loved this decade," Sam commented. He was wearing a white fifties style t-shirt covered by a red fifties style football jersey, dark blue fifties style jeans, black socks, and black fifties style shoes and his hair was styled in the common look of the decade.

"Yeah, it was a blast," Casey replied. She was wearing a white and pink fifties style cheerleading uniform, white fifties style socks, small fifties style diamond earrings, and her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. While this was going on, Alaric and Jenna were making the rounds as they talked. Presently, the man blew out a breath and looked down at his ring. _Alaric looked at the ring. He really hated it when she did this. Not because he was worried about the money, but because he always felt like such a louse that he didn't have anything for her._

"_I hate surprise gifts. I always feel bad that I didn't get you something," he complained, causing Isobel to laugh._

"_Well, don't. I got this ring a while back and I got the feeling that it should be yours," she told him. "If anyone asks, you can always say it's a family heirloom or that you're just pleasing your silly wife. No one ever questions those explanations," she_ _continued. She just hoped that he would accept the gift. She wasn't sure if what her old boyfriend had told her was true or not-when she had slipped the ring on, it had shocked her meaning that apparently it wasn't meant for her-but for some reason, she had a suspicion that the ring was meant for Ric._

"_Well, what do you mean that you got the feeling that this ring should be mine?" Alaric wondered._

"_Well, the person who gave me this ring said that it would protect its wearer from any type of Supernatural death," Isobel replied._

"_Then __**you**__ should have it. You're the one who's studying that world, not me," Alaric pointed out._

"_It's not meant for me, Ric. Please accept it…for me?" Isobel_ _implored. With a sigh, Alaric slipped the ring on his right and to his surprise, the colors shone brightly before returning to normal. Isobel flashed Alaric a relieved smile. It looked like what she had been told was true. "See? The ring's chosen you," she stated, giving him a kiss._

"Ric, are you all right?" Jenna questioned in concern.

"Uh-yeah. I just-got lost in thought. Sorry," Alaric apologized.

"Well, it's not very good manners for a girl's date to be distracted. Most likely, you spotted someone else," a voice sneered. With a sigh, Jenna and Alaric turned to see Logan.

"What are you doing here, Logan? You're not a volunteer," Jenna reminded.

"I wanted to see you. I-want you back. We were good once, we can be good again," Logan replied.

"I'm not interested in you anymore, Logan. You need to accept that and move on," Jenna snapped as Alaric placed his arm around her shoulders. Logan stared at them. He couldn't believe this was happening. How could Jenna be interested in this poser? Seeing the conversation that was going on, Liz let out a sigh and headed for them. Honestly! How long would Logan continue to make a nuisance of himself?

"Logan, you have no reason to be here. You didn't sign up as a volunteer and you weren't invited by a member of the faculty," the sheriff stated.

"Oh, don't get your panties in a twist, Sheriff. I'm leaving," Logan snapped and then walked off.

"And he wonders why he had a hard time getting a date when he was younger," Jenna stated.

"Has he been following you or bothering you?" Liz questioned.

"It's nothing I can't handle. Honest, Sheriff," Jenna assured.

"Well, if you're sure-I mean, after all, stalking **is** a crime," Sheriff Forbes reminded.

"I know, and if I feel that he's out of control, I'll call you," Jenna promised. Liz nodded and then went back to her post.

"I am so sorry about that," Jenna apologized.

"Not a problem. If I had been stupid enough to let you go, I'd be regretting it too," Alaric replied.

"So, what were you so lost in thought about?" Jenna wondered causing Alaric to let out a heavy sigh.

"Isobel-my wife-she would've loved an event like this," he replied.

"Wife?" she repeated. He was married? But if that was true, why would he say "would've"? "What do you mean would've?" she wondered.

"She was killed a year ago. We were-attacked. Someone tried to save her, but he couldn't," he replied. And he was almost certain that the person who had tried to save her was Damon Salvatore, though he couldn't be sure.

"I'm so sorry," Jenna whispered.

"There was nothing I could do…except hold her," Alaric responded. Jenna hugged him tightly.

"Oh, Ric. I'm so sorry," she said again. _How horrible_, she thought. "You must miss her terribly," she continued.

"I do. Every day," he agreed. "But it's slowly getting better," he told her. What they didn't know was that the scene had been witnessed by the vampires as well as some of the other students and faculty.

"Don't we know Alaric from somewhere?" Katherine queried quietly.

"I tried to save his wife from a vampire attack about a year ago. Unfortunately, by the time I got there the only thing my blood was good for was making her comfortable and not feel any pain as she passed away," Damon responded in the same tone.

"Oh, right. Isobel. One of my bloodline, though she never knew it," Katherine replied. "You should talk to him. Reconnect," she encouraged.

"When the time's right," he agreed. Then Katherine and Damon walked onto the dance floor and began dancing, using several moves that were popular in that particular decade. In a far corner, Grayson smiled as he watched Elena and Jeremy. _Miranda would love to see this_, he thought to himself. His wife had **loved** this sort of thing. He sighed with some sadness and then mentally shook his thoughts away. Caroline glanced at her mother as she walked by.

"Mom, why are you in uniform?" she asked.

"Because we still don't know who attacked Zach Salvatore and we all need to be on alert," came the response. _Not to mention the murder of Ambrose Peterson_, she thought to himself. At first it had looked like a simple homicide, but then it had been discovered that his body had been drained of blood, which meant that there was a vampire in town or somewhere nearby.

"I get that. But you work too hard. I'm worried," Caroline told her mother.

"Oh, thank you, Sweetie, but I'm fine," Liz assured. Caroline put a hand on her mother's wrist.

"Well, you'll figure it out. You always do," she commented as Tyler came up.

"Come on! Let's dance!" he urged, pulling the girl onto the dance floor, causing the sheriff to laugh. She then continued making the rounds, around the room, keeping an eye out for anyone acting suspicious. Presently, she ran into Sheila.

"Hey, Sheila. Having a good time?" she queried.

"I am, and I can guarantee that Jenna and Alaric are now that Logan's left. The boy never **could** take a hint," came the response and the women laughed. On the dance floor, various couples were dancing to the music as others stood by the refreshment stand talking. Zach walked up to the refreshment table, grabbed a plate and with some difficulty, began to place some of the snacks on his plate.

"Zach, let me help," Carol said, seeing this and coming up to the man.

"Oh, that'd be great, Carol. Thanks," Zach responded. With that, Carol took the plate and began to add more food. "Where's Richard?"

"He's at some kind of mayoral meeting-non Council business. You would think he'd skip it since his son's at a dance, but..." Carol's voice trailed off as she continued to get the foods that Zach indicated. When he finally had all he wanted, they went to a row of chairs and sat down. While this was going on, Elena had pulled a reluctant Stefan onto the dance floor and he was mainly just swaying, though he moved along with whatever dance steps his girlfriend thought of. Elena glanced at Jeremy who was talking with Vicki as they danced and smiled.

"What are you smiling at?" Stefan wondered.

"My brother. My happy, **clean** brother," Elena replied. "You know, it's amazing, I thought for sure we'd lose him to drugs and then out of the blue, he just started calling us whenever he felt like using and he-just-**stopped**," she continued.

"You're welcome," Damon said, betraying the fact that he had been eavesdropping.

"**You** did that?" Elena asked in surprise.

"Well, actually I did-I was pretending to be you. Damon took care of Vicki," Katherine responded.

"Thank you," Elena told them.

"You're welcome," they chorused. No one noticed when Lexi slipped through the entrance of _Mystic Falls High_. She was wearing a Donna Reed-like pink and white dress with a string of pearls around her neck, pearl earrings, fifties style high heels, and her hair had been brushed straight and was held down with a white headband. She scanned the crowd and finding the people she was looking for, she headed for them. Meanwhile, Bonnie was on the dance floor with her date, Josh Hendricks.

"You having a good time?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Great."

"Hey, what do you say we go get some air?"

"Air is good." With that, Bonnie and Josh walked out of the high school.

"It's really beautiful out here, isn't it?" Bonnie asked, looking at the sky.

"Yeah it is," Josh agreed. _But that's not what's important. What's important is that I have her all alone and I can finally make my move_, he thought to himself. Then, he stepped closer to the girl. Back on the dance floor, Lexi had approached Stefan and Elena as the strains of another upbeat song was just starting.

"Mind if I cut in?" she asked.

"Lexi! Hey! What are you doing here?" Elena wondered in pleased surprise as Stefan mouthed the words "Save me".

"I'm crashing. And hanging with my friends," came the answer. "So…can I?" she queried.

"Yeah, sure," the younger girl replied, stepping back and allowing the other woman to take her place. Stefan rolled his eyes as he and Lexi danced.

"I was hoping you'd **end** the torture, not prolong it," he told her.

"Oh, lighten up Stef. It's a party," she told him. "Okay, I'm going to need a little more footwork from you," she said a few minutes later. Stefan huffed and attempted to walk away, but Lexi grabbed his wrist, pulling him back.

"You're not going anywhere," she told him.

"All right, all right. Just let me know if you see Damon with his camera phone," he grumbled, causing the other vampire to laugh. Elena watched as the two danced. They looked really good together. And they were both vampires. They were better suited for each other. One of the football players came up to Elena and asked her to dance. She agreed and they danced until the song was over. Then, Elena went back to Stefan and Lexi went to dance with someone else. As they danced, Stefan noticed that Elena seemed preoccupied.

"Are you all right?" he queried, breaking her reverie.

"You and Lexi make a good couple," she answered. Stefan's brow furrowed for a moment before he realized what Elena was insinuating.

"Oh. No, no, no, no, no, no. We're only friends: nothing romantic whatsoever," he assured.

"Really?" she wondered.

"Yeah. I mean for one thing, I'm not her type," he answered. His girlfriend bit her lip, looking unconvinced. "Hey, **you**'**re** my girl," he told her, cupping her face with his hands and then giving her a small kiss, which Elena reciprocated as the song ended. Having heard the conversation, Lexi grinned to herself. Just then, Jerry Lee Lewis' _Great Balls Of Fire_ came over the speakers.

"Oh, I love this song!" Elena squealed. "Come on, show me how it was done in the fifties," she encouraged. Her boyfriend made a face.

"Unh-uh," he said with a shake of his head.

"Come on…just one move?" she enticed.

"Nope," he replied. Elena nodded encouragingly and Stefan shook his head.

"Fine. I'll just go ask Damon," she declared, turning around and taking a step away from him. Stefan grabbed Elena, whirling her around, lifted her up, dipped her, pulled her back up, spun her in the opposite direction, dipped her again, and then brought her back to her original position before placing his hands on her neck and kissing her.

"Now you remember that because it's never going to happen again," he told her. She laughed and kissed him gently as Lexi laughed. _Nicely played Elena_, she silently approved and then thanked her partner before they each went to dance with other people. Outside, Bonnie and Josh had been staring at the night sky, standing in silence as they admired its beauty. Moments later, Josh leaned in closer and he let his fingers intertwine with her hair as he started to kiss her.

"Whoa. What do you think you're doing?" Bonnie questioned, pulling out of his grasp.

"It's a date. We're supposed to have a good time," Josh answered, pulling her closer again.

"We **were** having a good time," Bonnie told him, trying to pull away. Inside, Caroline froze as a wave of coldness went through her. Then, she shivered.

"What? What is it?" Tyler asked in concern.

"Bonnie needs us and something really, **really** bad is about to happen," Caroline replied.

"Let's go," Tyler stated. **Lena, Bon needs us!** he called as he and Caroline headed for the exit. Elena stiffened as Tyler's voice appeared in her head.

"What's wrong? Did I do something?" Stefan questioned in concern. As far as he knew, he had been a perfect gentleman, but perhaps he had unintentionally crossed a boundary with her.

"No, but Bonnie needs us," Elena responded and she and Stefan headed for the exit, following Caroline and Tyler. Seeing the kids leave, Sheila instantly followed them.

"Sheila, what's going on?" Liz questioned when she saw the woman heading for the exit.

"I'm not sure. But the kids seem to be on a mission and I'm going to make sure everything's okay," Sheila replied.

"Okay. Come get me if you need me," Liz told her.

"Of course," Sheila agreed and then she hurried after the kids. Outside, Josh tried once more to kiss Bonnie. Fed up, she stared at the boy intensely. Then, he groaned and grabbed his head.

"Bonnie! Are you all right?" Elena asked as she and the others reached them and Josh continued to groan.

"Bonnie, stop! You're going to kill him!" Sheila warned. Bonnie moved her head slightly; breaking the connection and Josh gave one last final moan.

"Man, my head," he groaned. _Well, what did you expect, buddy? You screwed with a Bennett witch_, Stefan thought to himself.

"Caroline got a feeling that something was happening. Are you okay?" Tyler checked, as he gently took her hand, his eyes scouring for any marks, cuts, or bruises.

"Yeah. I just-I wasn't sure how far he was going to take things and wanted back up if it was needed," Bonnie replied.

"A wise idea," Sheila approved.

"Do you want us to take you home?" Elena asked.

"Yeah, we can just hang out-the five of us," Caroline added.

"No, it's fine. Let's get back to the dance," Bonnie stated.

"You sure?" Stefan checked and Bonnie nodded.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I just want to enjoy the rest of the evening," Bonnie responded.

"Okay. I'll compel him so that he doesn't know what you did to him," Stefan told her.

"Great," Bonnie approved. Then, they headed back towards the school as Stefan turned to Josh. He grabbed the boy's arm, causing the human to look up, locking eyes.

"You won't remember what Bonnie did. You're going to go home and stay there until it's time for school again. All you'll remember is that after dancing for a while, you came out here with Bonnie. You tried to make a move on her and when she resisted, you two had a fight and you went home in a huff," Stefan stated, letting his eyes dilate and Josh repeated what Stefan told him. Then, he went to his car and drove off.

"Nicely done," Sheila approved.

"Not bad for a vampire who once had to stay away from humans because he went psycho, huh?" Stefan queried and Sheila let out a scoffing laugh as she shook her head.

"Let's go back inside, you fool," she responded and they also headed back inside. A few minutes later, a dark black Cadillac arrived in the parking lot. Then, the engine was shut off and the door opened to reveal Klaus who was wearing a fifties style gray business suit. With a satisfied smirk, he strode into the school. He **loved** public places. They allowed him easy access to his prey. Once inside, the vampire looked around as he subtly moved forward, trying to find the Doppelganger. Then, a scent reached his nostrils: iron, steel, and powder intermingled with pine needles and Earth. _Now that is intriguing._ _Katerina had only smelled of iron, steel, and powder: a true Petrova. But this Doppelganger is different_, he mused to himself. With a smirk, he followed the smell of the Doppelganger and then his eyes flashed. Vervain. She was wearing vervain. Well, that was no matter. He could still get her alone even without compulsion. As he got closer, he saw that she was dancing with Stefan Salvatore and his smirk grew. This was perfect. This meant that Katerina would be at this dance as well. He waited until Stefan left her side and then appeared in front of her.

"Oh. Hi," she greeted in surprise.

"Sorry for startling you. I just saw you dancing with Stefan and had to come say hello," he responded.

"You know Stefan?" she queried.

"Very well. I'm Klaus," he introduced himself, sticking out a hand.

"I'm Elena," she replied, taking his hand.

"Very nice to meet you," he told her, tightening his grip. Elena gasped in pain. **Bon! Car! Ty!** she shouted. However, she received no answer. Klaus pulled Elena close to him and casually escorted her towards the exit. _Oh, I don't believe this! If hooking up with different people wasn't so common at these things, everyone would be trying to stop us_, Elena thought to herself. Once outside, Klaus led Elena to a spot that wasn't easily viewed. Then, he savagely bit into the girl's neck, muffling her scream with his hand.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I deliberately chose to change the fifties outfits so no saying that I got it wrong.


	17. Unpleasantville Part 3

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own the new twists and characters you don't recognize.

As Klaus continued to drain Elena, she found herself thinking about Grayson, Jenna, and Jeremy. She didn't want to leave them and they couldn't face another death so soon…especially Jeremy. _Someone…help…_she thought before her vision grew dim. Back inside, Stefan had gone to the refreshment table in order to get some food and a drink to keep up appearances. He had just finished filling his plate when he heard a muffled scream. His eyes widened. That was Elena! Without even thinking about it, he headed for the exit, causing his siblings, Sam, Anna, Lexi, Bonnie, Tyler, and Caroline to follow him, resulting in Grayson, Jeremy, Zach, Sheila, Alaric, Lexi, and Jenna following them. Seeing this, Matt hurried after them.

"Hey, what's going on?" he asked, grabbing Anna's wrist. She turned to him.

"Everything's fine. I just need you to stay here," she told him, letting her eyes dilate. Matt nodded as the compulsion hit him and he watched Anna and the others continue towards the exit. At the same time, Liz had also seen this and hurried towards Grayson and Zach.

"What's going on?" Liz questioned when the two women had gotten closer to them.

"We don't know. It could be nothing," Grayson replied.

"Call us if you need us," Carol instructed.

"Of course,' Zach agreed. When the small group got outside, they saw the vampire feeding from Elena. Tyler's eyes flashed in rage as a fire sparked and headed for them, latching onto the vampire who yelled in surprised pain as he hastily put himself out. Then with a snarl of rage, Casey and Lexi lunged, knocking Klaus to the ground and started punching him as Stefan hurried towards Elena. He knelt beside her, dug his fangs into his wrist tearing the flesh and drawing blood.

"Hold on Elena, I'm going to make everything all right," he assured, as he put his wrist to her mouth. He hated to force her to drink his blood, but it had to be done. There was no time to get her to a hospital and she'd die without it. The Original grabbed Casey who was completely vamped out as Tyler, Bonnie, and Caroline joined the fracas, Tyler calling up fire to surround the male vampire, Bonnie using her witch powers to confuse and distract him, and Caroline moving in close enough to land in a few punches at certain intervals even as Lexi and Casey continued to fight Klaus.

"Should we help them?" Sam quietly asked Damon.

"I don't think they need it," Damon answered in the same tone. Jeremy and Grayson stared at one another. What was going on? Then, they noticed the figure on the ground.

"Elena!" Jeremy shouted starting for her.

"Hold on, Jeremy. Let them take care of this," Grayson advised, grabbing his son's arm.

"Grayson, are you crazy? We have to get her to a hospital," Jenna protested. _I don't understand. What's wrong with him?_ Jenna wondered. If they didn't move now, Elena was going to die.

"Trust me: this will be faster than a hospital," Grayson said. As they fought, Klaus smirked at Casey.

"I remember you. You hung out with my brother during the twenties," he stated loud enough for only vampires to hear. "You were such a Ripper," he continued in the same tone with a grin. Lexi looked at Casey in concern. What would that reminder do to her friend?

"And you tried to kill my Sire," she hissed, ignoring the jibe. And in her book, that was unforgiveable. Katherine was like family and **no one** messed with her family. Jeremy looked at Grayson in confusion. What was going on?

"She betrayed me. She was supposed to help me unleash my wolf side so I could make hybrids and take over the world. After all, when one is a king, he needs subjects and a kingdom," he responded with a grin as he ignored the fire around him. Tyler, Bonnie, and Caroline stared at one another. What did **that** mean? **Vampires? Werewolves? Is this for real?** Tyler wondered, looking at the girls. **It's for real**, Bonnie answered. **So weird**, Caroline commented and Bonnie and Tyler nodded in agreement. Casey let out another snarl and lunged at him, only to be tossed aside as Klaus then lunged at Bonnie, knocking her back, pinning her to the ground. He was about to sink his teeth into her when a sudden pain filled his head, causing him to scream and fall back.

"You get the hell away from my granddaughter," Sheila snapped. _I can't believe I have to take on an Original_, she thought to herself. Though it was true that the first vampires were stronger, faster, and couldn't be killed by regular stakes like other vampires, they were still susceptible to a witch's power. Tyler and Caroline helped Bonnie up as the fire faded due to Tyler's broken concentration. **Are you okay?** the two asked together. **I'm fine. Thanks**, Bonnie responded. **This sucks. I am completely useless**, Caroline complained as they turned to watch Casey fight. Elena moaned as her vision became sharper and then she was that something coppery was in her mouth. Blood. It was blood. Out of instinct she started to recoil. She wasn't supposed to be drinking blood!

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't fight. This will help heal you," she heard a voice assure her and her eyes fluttered open to see Stefan. Stefan. He must've heard her and had come to her. She forced her body to relax and swallowed the blood that was being offered to her. Though she couldn't say anything, Stefan could see the relief and gratitude in her eyes. Hearing her heartbeat grow stronger, Stefan finally pulled his wrist away.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, slowly helping the girl to a sitting position.

"A little shaky…kinda buzzed," she admitted.

"Yeah, that's from my blood. It should pass in a couple of hours," he assured. Jeremy stared in shock. What was going on here? He didn't understand.

"Dad, what just happened?" he asked.

"That's what **I**'**d** like to know," Jenna added. "How come you didn't call 9-1-1?" she wondered. Grayson looked to the vampires who nodded their consent.

"Stefan and the others-they're vampires. They're the ones that saved me and Elena after the accident," Grayson told them.

"Whoa," Caroline and Tyler chorused. Then they glanced at Bonnie.

"You knew?" Caroline asked.

"How?" Tyler wondered.

"We felt it. A witch can feel a vampire's presence when they touch. But a vampire only allows a witch to do that when they want to be trusted," Sheila replied.

"How couldn't they save Mom?" Jeremy asked before the topic could veer too off course.

"Jer!" Elena scolded as she carefully stood up.

"She was already gone. Died on impact," Damon replied. Alaric grabbed Damon's arm, and led him aside out of the other humans hearing.

"It **was** you, wasn't it? You tried to save Isobel," he said quietly.

"Yeah. I'm-I'm really sorry that I couldn't," came the hushed response. And that rankled. He was supposed to be faster than almost anything on Earth and he had been too late. _I can't believe I wasn't fast enough. I should've been_, he thought to himself.

"You made her comfortable. And I got to be with her. I'm grateful for that," Alaric told him. Yeah it had hurt and he had been devastated when the light had gone out of her eyes, but he was so glad that she hadn't died alone. She would've been a lot more afraid if she'd been alone.

"You're welcome," Damon told him. Then, seeing Klaus knock Lexi back and overpowering Casey, he lunged at the fighters, knocking the Original to the ground.

"You won't win this. I'm older and stronger," Klaus reminded. Then, before Damon or Casey could stop him, he placed his hand in Casey's chest, grabbing her heart.

"Casey!" Stefan shouted, starting for them.

"One move and I kill little sister," Klaus warned. The other vampires growled, but made no move towards him. "You know what I want, and you'll give it to me. Or else next time I won't be so lenient," he continued. Then, he released his hold on the younger vampire's heart and then walked off as Damon grabbed Casey in concern.

"You all right?" he questioned.

"I am going to rip him limb for limb. I will **slaughter** him," she growled, pain evident in her voice.

"Threatening bodily harm to an Original. She's fine," Lexi quipped.

"We have to tell the Council there was an attack," Grayson declared. _I can't let this go. Elena almost died_, he thought to himself.

"No, there's no way to explain it without exposing my family," Zach objected.

"No, he's right. The Council has to be warned," Damon agreed.

"Klaus is a stone cold killer. The only reason he didn't kill Casey must be because he has a plan that involves her," Katherine chimed in.

"But I won't get you killed," Zach told them.

"Zach, he's probably the vampire that attacked you. And there's already been one murder," Stefan responded.

"Right. Ambrose Peterson," Zach recalled.

"Look, it's simple. We just tell them that we were all outside when we heard Elena scream and by the time we got out here, we found Damon fighting her attacker and we found that she had been bitten and drained but not killed," Anna proposed.

"Yeah. That works," Elena agreed.

"Good idea," Damon approved at the same time.

"If you're all sure…" Zach said, his voice trailing off.

"We **are**," the vampires chorused. Back inside, Liz and Carol were getting antsy.

"I don't like this. Something's wrong," Liz declared.

"I agree," Carol said. With that, they headed for the exit only to be met by Zach and Grayson.

"What is it?" Liz asked seeing the grave expressions.

"We need to hold an emergency meeting. Elena was just attacked," Grayson reported.

"What!?" Liz and Carol chorused, barely keeping their voices down.

"How is she?" Liz added as Carol pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"She was drained a bit so I had Stefan and Jenna take her home. I was going to take her to the hospital, but I wasn't sure if they'd be able to do anything for her and this way the vampire won't have easy access to her," Grayson replied.

"Good thinking," Liz approved.

"Richard, the Council needs to meet. Elena Gilbert was just attacked," Carol reported after getting through to her husband. "Right. See you in a bit," she stated. Then she hung up. "Richard will put out some calls to the others. We should get the Council members that are here," she told them and they all nodded and then went to do so. Several minutes later, Damon, Richard, Carol, Zach, Grayson, Logan, and some other Council members had met at the Lockwood Estate and were sitting at a table in the den as Liz told them what had happened at the dance.

"Grayson, did you see who the vampire was?" Richard questioned.

"Well, Damon was the one fighting him. I was more concerned with getting Elena home," Grayson replied. They turned to the younger of the Salvatores expectantly.

"I-I didn't really get a good look at him, but he was about my height, with chestnut or blonde hair. I'm just glad I managed to fight the guy off as well as I did," Damon answered.

"Well, you have **my** gratitude," Grayson told him. Damon nodded

"Well, Elena's attacker is probably the same person who killed Ambrose Peterson. I mean, it's too coincidental," a man surmised.

"But how do we even find him?" Damon wondered.

"The Gilbert Devise," Richard stated and Damon looked to Grayson. What would he say?

"I think it's in my office, but I'm not sure. I'll look for it," Grayson told them.

"Fine," Richard agreed. "Once we find the vampire we'll kill him and this nightmare will be over," he declared as he and the others stood up.

"That would be great. I hope it's soon," his wife sighed.

"Me too," he agreed as they all headed out.

"You know, it's too bad no one can find that other device that Jonathan created," Liz commented.

"Other device?" Damon questioned. She wasn't referring to what he thought she was, was she?

"A whistle-like device that was supposed to kill vampires with one tone," Liz explained.

"Oh wow. That **does** sound like it would come in handy," Damon stated, feigning awe. "Where is it?" he wondered with a subtle glance at Grayson who gave a small shrug of confusion. He had read about the device in Jonathan's journal, but his ancestor hadn't said what had happened to it. Logan glanced at the other Council members but said nothing. He knew what they all thought about him: that he was completely useless. Well, he'd show them. He'd find the other Gilbert Device and then use it to destroy the vampire that had hurt Elena. That would certainly change Grayson's opinion of him and he'd probably encourage Jenna to give him another chance. He grinned at the concept. _Yes! I'll be a hero and the Council will see how valuable I am to them and Jenna will fall all over me_, he thought to himself. Yes, he had a plan: a good plan. Soon Jenna would be back in his arms. Presently, they all went to their cars. Damon and Zach hung back, waiting for Grayson.

"Where is that device really?" Damon asked softly.

"It **is** in my office," Grayson replied. "But I'm not giving **that** to the Council. They'd find you in a heartbeat," he continued.

"And no one knows what happened to the other device," Zach mused. _Well…that's not exactly true_, Damon thought to himself. He had a feeling he knew where the other device was, but also knew that it would be better to keep his mouth shut. If needed, it could be their ace in the hole. The men got into their cars, started the engines, and then drove off. Meanwhile, Stefan had taken Elena back to her house and placed her on her bed. _You just hold on. You're going to be okay_, he thought to himself.

"Thank you," Elena whispered.

"Yeah no problem," Stefan said, smoothing back her hair. _ I was so scared. I thought he had killed her_, he mused.

"It felt like he had killed me," Elena confessed. _And I didn't want to leave them. Jeremy still needs me_, she thought.

"I need you too," he said.

"Wait. How did you-" her voice trailed off. _Is this like the Strikers thing?_ she wondered.

"Yeah, this **does** seem like that," he agreed. _This is so weird. I didn't think I had given her that much_, he mused.

"What does the amount of blood you gave me have to do with anything?" Elena wondered.

"It's not common knowledge but when a vampire shares a certain amount of his blood with someone, it can create a telepathic bond between the vampire and the person he gave his blood to allowing them both to contact each other," Stefan responded.

"And you gave me that amount?" Elena asked. **But why?** she wondered.

"I hadn't thought I did," Stefan replied. **I just kept feeding you until you responded. I had no idea this was going to happen**, he responded.

"I rather like it," Elena grinned.

"Yeah, me too," Stefan agreed. While this was going on, Jenna and Alaric were in Jenna's room, discussing what had happened as they sat on Jenna's bed.

"I-I can't believe what just-" Jenna stammered.

"I know it's a lot to take in. I couldn't believe it myself when I first encountered vampires," Alaric told.

"When did you first find out?" Jenna wondered.

"My wife was a paranormal researcher. She had found some evidence of their existence and then she was killed," Alaric responded.

"I'm so sorry," Jenna said.

"Thanks," Alaric answered.

"So you must hate vampires," Jenna surmised. _I mean…I would_, she thought.

"No. A-another vampire came along…tried to save her…but he could only make her comfortable," Alaric answered.

"Really? Who?" Jenna wondered.

"Damon Salvatore," Alaric told her.

"Wow," Jenna breathed. Back in Elena's room, Elena and Stefan had been talking when Elena's stomach rumbled.

"Oh, well, that was lovely," she said sarcastically.

"You've had some excitement and it's been a while since our last dance which probably worked up your appetite," Stefan commented. **I'm going to get you some food**, he told her. **There's some pot roast in the fridge**, she answered as she shifted her position on her bed. Stefan nodded and went to the kitchen just as the door opened and Grayson walked in.

"Hey. Alaric's taking care of Jenna in her room and Elena said she wanted the pot roast. I figured the food would do her some good after what happened," Stefan greeted.

"All right. That's fine. I think we could all use something," Grayson answered. When Stefan found what he was looking for, he pulled a couple of dishes out of the refrigerator, put the food on a plate, and then placed the plate in the microwave, punching in the temperature needed to reheat it.

"I need to tell you something," Stefan announced as he put the pot roast's container back in the refrigerator.

"What's going on?" Grayson asked.

"I was just giving her my blood until she responded. I didn't think it was all that much but…" Stefan's voice trailed off.

"What? What happened?" Grayson asked.

"It created a telepathic bond. We can hear each other's thoughts," Stefan told him. Grayson stared for a moment and then chuckled.

"Well, isn't that something?" he asked. "I'm sure she loves that," he stated.

"Yeah, she-she saw me at my worst and-" Stefan cut himself off. Grayson didn't want to hear about Elena going to a feeding frenzy.

"Your wor-" Grayson began to ask. "Oh, right. Feeding frenzy," he recalled. Stefan threw him a puzzled look. How did he know about that?

"It was in David Gilbert's journal," Grayson explained mentioning a descendant of Jonathan's and Stefan nodded. That made sense. Then, the microwave beeped and Stefan opened it and grabbed the dish, putting it on the table and then got out the silverware. When he was done, he took the plate up to Elena's bedroom. Once he was alone, Grayson went to his den and rummaged around his desk until he found what he was looking for: a large gold pocket watch. He opened it, adjusted the needle, and the watch ticked as the needle spun back and forth as it searched for its quarry. Then, the man walked towards Elena's room and the needle went absolutely crazy.

"Oh, good. It still works," Grayson sighed in relief as it pointed at Stefan.

"Is that the Gilbert Device?" Stefan asked in surprise. _Why would he need that? He already knows what I am_, he thought to himself.

"Yes. I want Elena to have it in case that vampire comes near her again," Grayson replied, offering it to his daughter who took it. The device made a clicking noise before the needle landed in Stefan's direction.

"Good idea," Stefan approved as Jeremy came in.

"Hey. How you doing?" he asked, walking up to her.

"I'm all right."

"I was worried."

"Jer, I'm not going to leave you. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." They hugged and Stefan locked eyes with Grayson and in that moment the vampire knew that he was thinking the same thing as the man: they would both do anything they could to protect Elena. **Anything**…


	18. Children Of The Damned Part 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Sorry I forgot to reply to reviewers last time.

Long Live BRUCAS (ch 10-17: Thank you. You shall see. Thanks. Yeah, I like this version of them too. I'm glad you think so. Yeah, I thought it'd be interesting. Yep. Uh-huh. Well Klaus is **always** bad news. Yes, he did. Yes, they are. Glad you think so. Of course: they gotta protect each other.

David Fishwick: Thanks. Here's more.

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. I only own characters and plots you don't recognize. The Strikers angle comes from the Dark Visions trilogy by L.J. Smith. Thanks to JainaSolo1o18 for Stefan's nickname for Elena.

Elena moaned with lustful longing as Stefan placed hot and passionate kisses on her neck.

"Man, you feel **so** good," she stated, as his hands roamed her upper body, as she leaned backwards into her bed. **I love it.** **More please**, she added.

"And yet I'm the only one giving," he murmured as he followed her silent command. **You know, this is completely unfair. I'm doing all the work while you're just sitting pretty**, he mock complained. Elena laughed and reached up to stroke his face as she scooted down the bed so that he was positioned over her.

"Putting yourself at my mercy?" he teased, letting his hands tease her ribcage, resulting in a moan even as she continued to caress his cheek. **Careful, Nena. That can be a pretty scary place**, he went on.

"Maybe," she responded in the same tone. **Oh, somehow I doubt that. After all, I have you right where I want you**, she told him. Then she slowly and sensually inched her right hand towards his mouth.

"Nena," he moaned as his bloodlust rose. Her pulse point was driving him wild and he wasn't sure if he could keep his features normal. She smirked as she continued to move her hand until her wrist was directly over his mouth. She knew how the smell of her blood affected Stefan and absolutely **loved** it. Stefan's eyes darkened as he felt his fangs descending, just itching to be released and to tear into the wrist that was teasing him.

"What's the matter, Ano?" she asked wickedly.

"You little tease. You know what your pulse does to me," he commented as the veins around his eyes took on a monstrous appearance. Elena's answer was a tinkling laugh.

"So what are you going to do about it?" she taunted, running her wrist across his mouth. For an answer, Stefan let his fangs elongate and then bit into wrist, being careful not to drip. Elena moaned lustfully and she arched as Stefan grabbed her wrist with a hand to keep the vein in place. "Ano," she breathed. No matter how many times Stefan drank from her, she would never get used to how much it turned her on. Ever since his birthday when she had gone on the feeding frenzy with him, Stefan had been sporadically feeding from her-usually when they were otherwise engaged in the bedroom. Thankfully, Bonnie had cast a spell on her that would hide her boyfriend's bites. Stefan's eyes darkened at the sound of her nickname for him. When he was finally satiated, he released her wrist and then proceeded to plant kisses all over her body. Meanwhile, Grayson, Zach, Liz, Sheila, Logan, the Lockwoods, and other Council members had met at the mayor's house and were in the man's living room.

"I gather we all know why we're here," Mayor Lockwood stated.

"Yes. There's a new vampire in town," Logan stated.

"And it's getting more dangerous. Whoever it is has already killed Ambrose Peterson and has turned some of the residents," Liz interjected.

"I had to kill Melinda Collins," Carol stated, mentioning a member of her society club.

"I'm sorry. I know she was a good friend," Zach told her, reaching over to pat her on the hand. Afterwards, he shared a glance with Grayson. Had killing the woman truly been necessary or had Carol just acted on the belief that all vampires were soulless monsters? Grayson's shrug told Zach that the other man didn't know himself.

"Well, though I certainly advise you to kill any vampires you come across, we should keep one alive long enough to find out who their leader is," Richard instructed and everyone nodded in agreement.

"What about the Gilbert Device? The compass?" Liz queried.

"It wasn't in the den where I thought it was. I must have moved it. I'll look tonight and I'll make sure I find it," Grayson responded.

"Good. I have a feeling that we're going to need it soon," Liz approved.

"And I can find the other device. The one that'll actually **kill** the vampires," Logan offered and Grayson and Zach glanced at each other in alarm. No one knew about the device or its whereabouts. It was stated in Jonathan's journal that it had disappeared shortly after Katherine and her friends had been forced out of Mystic Falls.

"Good idea, Logan. Do what you can," Richard told him in a tone that suggested that he didn't believe that the man could do what he proposed. Logan's eyes flashed at the tone. So the mayor didn't think that he could do it, did he? Well, he'd show him! He'd show them all! With a huff, he walked out of the estate, ignoring everyone else as they left. Meanwhile, Klaus was in his house with the vampires that he had created.

"This…is working out just as I planned," he grinned.

"How can you say that? The Council is aware of us and they're killing us off," a man protested.

"Of course there will be sacrifices," Klaus started. "But if you really want to have the freedom to walk about in the daylight, you will have to be patient and trust me," he continued. The man began to protest again, but decided against it. There was nothing more than he wanted than to walk in the sun again. If he was able to do that, he'd have more time to track down the vampire that had done this to him so that he could destroy him. Thankfully, Klaus had agreed to help him achieve this. Therefore, he'd do as the man asked. Klaus let out a small chuckle too low for even the other vampires to hear. Thanks to his compulsion, none of the people in the group knew that he was the one who had turned them all. _This is going to be great. Soon I will have all of the ingredients I need to unleash my wolf side, create my hybrids, and take my revenge on Katerina and her precious friends_, he thought to himself. And with the death of the Doppelganger, he could procure enough of her blood to create hybrids and then the Petrova line would be no more. And **that** would be his ultimate revenge. As this thought went through his mind, Klaus' smile grew. It was a lovely thought and he could hardly wait until he made it into reality. With that, he walked out of the door, promising to return with answers to the other vampires' questions. Meanwhile, at the Mystic Grill, Vicki was waiting tables and chatting with the customers.

"Yo Vick, table fifteen needs a refill!" one of the other waiters called.

"On it, Chris!" Vicki called back. _Wow. How did we get so busy?_ she wondered as she went to the table and refilled their cokes and then went back to another table. Unnoticed by her, Jeremy walked in and looked around. _Wow. I've never seen this place so busy_, he thought to himself. Spotting Vicki, he walked over to her.

"So, what's with the surge?" he wondered.

"Tourists. Some group thing, I have no idea," she replied.

"You guys need a little help here?"

"You wouldn't be paid."

"Don't need it."

"Then yeah. The help would be appreciated." With that, Jeremy went straight to work, bussing empty tables. The next few hours was filled with Vicki taking orders and Jeremy bussing tables. As this went on, the manager watched from across the room and he let out a soft laugh. Grayson's kid was something else. He didn't know many other teens who would just up and start working like this. And he was **definitely** grateful for the help. Finally, things slowed down enough where Vicki and Jeremy could take a break.

"Whew! I am beat," Vicki stated with a sigh.

"Me too. But it felt good. I liked helping you," Jeremy agreed.

"Thanks. I liked having you help us," Vicki responded.

"You know, we never would've done this a few months ago. We would've been too busy getting high," Jeremy mused.

"I know right?" Vicki agreed. "**So** glad we're not doing that anymore."

"Me too." They laughed and Vicki ducked her head shyly. She **still** couldn't believe she had gotten so lucky with Jeremy. He was just so amazing. A few moments later, Vicki went back to work. Jeremy let out a breath and messed up his hair with a hand. It was so weird not getting high, but it felt good. _I wonder what brought it on. I mean, Vicki and I were getting stoned every day and now we just-don't have the urge_, he mused. Meanwhile, back at the Gilbert House, Elena was lying back in her bed, Stefan beside her.

"Are you okay? I didn't take too much, did I?" he questioned in concern. That was something that he was struggling with: keeping his natural urges in check when feeding off of her.

"No, I'm fine," she assured. And she was. Yeah, she was a little tired, but it was only natural after being fed on. "I've just been thinking-"

"Uh-oh. Now we're in trouble."

"Shut up." As she said this, Elena grabbed a pillow and hit Stefan lightly.

"What were you thinking?"

"I'd like to find out why Katherine and I look alike." Stefan's eyes clouded. He had been wondering the same thing himself. He and the others had done some research but they could find no link between the Gilberts and the Petrovas. It just wasn't making any sense. "I mean, there's gotta be **some** connection between us, right?"

"Right."

"And I want to know what that is." _I can't really blame her. But Katherine's always been clear about the fact that even though she looks out for descendants that she knows are specifically Petrova, she doesn't know exactly where her line ends or if it even has_, he mused. Though all of her descendants had her scent, due to the dwindling bloodline, according to her, the scent was getting harder and harder to detect. However, Elena probably fit in there somewhere, they just had to find the link.

"Well, if you want, I'll help you."

"That'd be great, thanks." Elena grinned and tried to hide the worry that was in her eyes. She didn't know exactly how she and Katherine were related, but she was going to do whatever she could to find out. Almost as if sensing her thoughts, Stefan placed an arm around Elena, who snuggled into him and she let out a happy smile. She had been worried that he'd try to discourage her from looking into her ties with Katherine. But it would seem that he was in full support of what she wanted to do. What no one knew was that Klaus had decided to go out for a bit and had gone to the Grill. Seeing Vickie, he grinned and walked up to her.

"Hello," he greeted.

"Hey, what can I get ya?" she wondered, glancing up at him. Almost immediately, she stood transfixed. _Whoa! He's gorgeous!_ she thought to herself.

"Come with me please," he requested, holding out a hand as he let his pupils dilate. _Good. She is not one of the ones who are protected by Vervain_, he smirked to himself. This would make his announcement all the sweeter.

"Of course," she answered, taking the offered hand. Then, he led her outside and to the back of an alley. "Wait a minute. What are-" Her question was cut off as Klaus made a gash in his wrist and then shoved the blood into the girl's mouth even as she let out distressed noises and tried to fight him off.

"Ssssh, sssshhhh, shhhh. I just need you to do me a little favor. I want you to find Katerina and her Doppelganger and tell her that if they don't deliver themselves up to me so that I can unleash my wolf side, I will turn the residents of this dinky little town into vampires…one-by-one," he told her. Once he saw that she had swallowed enough of his blood, the vampire grabbed the side of his victim's head and snapped it. _Game on, Katerina_, he thought to himself. He knew how sickeningly selfless she was, and she would **never** allow the town to be subjected to his terror. He then sped off, leaving his victims lying on the ground.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I chose to have Elena call Stefan "Ano" as it's part of the Italian variation of Stefan which is Stefano and sounds more manly than having her call him "Stef".


	19. Children Of The Damned Part 2

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Guest: Here's an update.

Long Live BRUCAS: Yay, I wasn't the only one who thought that. Yep, he certainly did.

DISCLAIMER

Oh, my. Sorry this took so long. My transitions between scenes were fighting me. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the C.W. The Strikers' angle comes from the _Dark Visions Trilogy_ by L.J. Smith. I only own the new plot and any characters you don't recognize.

The first thing Vicki was aware of when she came to was an incredible burning in her throat. _ What's going on? Why is my throat on fire?_ she wondered. It didn't make sense. Why would her throat be on fire? And what was this hunger inside? It didn't make sense. Help. She needed help. She needed Matty. With a groan, she climbed to her feet and headed to their house. She needed to find her brother. He'd know what to do and how to help her. He'd know how to make the hunger go away. That's all she wanted: the hunger to go away and something to soothe her throat. That's all she needed: something to make this all go away. She needed Matty. Matty would make it all better. And that's all that mattered: being better…and finding something for her throat. Finally, she reached her residence. Good. She was home and Matty was home. She could smell it. Wait. Smell it? Matty didn't smell. What was going? She opened the door and started to go in. However, she was surprised when an invisible force seemed to stop her. _What? What's going on?_ she wondered as she attempted to cross the threshold. How come she couldn't get in? This was her home! She had to be able to get in!

"Matty?" she called. "Matty, are you there?" she questioned.

"Vick?" he asked, coming to the door. "What are you doing standing out there, get in," he said and she stepped inside the home.

"Damn, I'm starving!" she sighed as she headed for their kitchen. Matt watched as she raided the refrigerator desperately.

"What are you on, Vick?" he demanded.

"Nothing, I'm just really hungry," she replied in a hurt tone. How could Matty think she was on something? She had been clean for a long time now!

"Vick, the last time you had cravings like this, you were stoned. What are you on?" he demanded again, as he grabbed her and spun her around.

"I said 'I'm clean'!" she shrieked, breaking free and pushing him to the ground. He moaned as his head hit the floor. "Matty?" she asked. "Matty, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?" she continued, kneeling next to him in concern. As she did so, the smell of his blood hit her nostrils and she gasped. That smell-it was so strong! She moaned as she leaned forward. Just one little bite-maybe that would help…No! She couldn't hurt Matty! Whimpering, she reached out to stroke his hair and then gasped as her fingers touched something sticky. Blood. This was blood. This was Matty's blood. _What have I done? I've hurt him_, she thought to herself. Panting shakily, she stood up and headed for the phone. With shaky hands, she dialed a number and waited anxiously for the call to go through. When it finally did, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Sheriff, it's Vicki. Matty had an accident," she reported. "We're at home. Please hurry," she continued and then hung up. After that, she grabbed her cell phone and dialed a number, which went through after a few moments. "Jer? I really need you. Matty had an accident. The sheriff is on her way, but I don't wanna be alone," she reported. Then, as she hung up, she heard the faint sound of sirens. _Oh, good. They're coming_, she thought. Then, she blinked. How had she heard them from so far away? It wasn't possible! Back at the Gilbert home, Stefan and Elena groaned as Elena's phone rang.

"Don't answer it," Stefan told her. However, she ignored him, grabbed the phone, and pressed the "talk" button even as the vampire continued to press kisses all over her body.

"Jer, I'm kind of-whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down," she said. Instantly, Stefan stopped what he was doing. "Now what's going on?" she asked.

"Vicki called. Apparently Matt had some kind of accident and she's freaking out," Stefan heard Jeremy reply and within seconds, he had Elena's purse and shoes on the bed and he was lacing up his shoes.

"We'll be right there. It's going to be okay," Elena assured, throwing her boyfriend a grateful look. She slipped into her sneakers, grabbed her purse, and headed down the stairs.

"I'll drive," Stefan offered and Elena mouthed her thanks, not wanting to interrupt Jeremy. Stefan grabbed the car keys off of the key ring, they went out the door, and to Grayson's car, starting it as soon as they got in, and taking off.

"Did she say what happened?"

"No. She just-she must've taken off after I helped her with the rush at the Grill."

"We'll be there soon, okay?"

"All right." They hung up and Stefan revved the engine, picking up speed. He could smell Elena's fear and worry and had to admit that he was feeling the same way. What could have happened to Matt? And was Vicki okay? Well, they would find out the answers to this when they got to the hospital. Moments later, they reached the establishment to find Vicki and Jeremy in the waiting room, the former who was pacing anxiously.

"What happened?" Elena wondered in concern as Stefan's brows furrowed. There was something wrong here, more than Matt having some sort of accident. But what was it?

"Matty and I had an argument and I pushed him, but I didn't mean to hurt him!" Vicki replied. "It doesn't make sense! I'm not that strong, how could I possibly hurt him?" she continued. "And why am I so hungry? My throat is on fire!" As soon as she said this, Stefan's body went rigid. _Uh-oh. This isn't good_, he thought. If it was what he thought it was, the hospital was the worst place in the world for Vicki to be right now.

"Vicki, are you okay?" Elena asked in concern, not noticing Stefan's actions. She was acting really weird. Almost like she was on drugs again, but that was impossible. Damon had compelled her not to want drugs anymore. _I don't get it. Did his compulsion wear off or something?_ she wondered. She had no idea if that was possible or not, but if it was, she hoped that they could help the girl.

"Yes, no…I don't know! Everything is brighter and louder and-" Vicki's voice trailed off. _I don't know what's going on. This is like a bad trip, but I didn't take anything_, she thought.

"She's been real edgy ever since she got here," Jeremy told them. Hearing this, Stefan got in front of Vicki.

"Hey, hey, hey, look at me," he told her, gently grabbing her face and looking into her eyes. "Look at me, look at me-calm down-you're no good to Matt this way," he said. At these words, Vicki stopped. Matty. She had to be here for Matty.

"I-I don't know what's happening. What's happening to me? Why do I feel this way? I'm so hungry and everything's getting loud," Vicki said, starting to cry.

"I know. I know, and that's why I'm gonna get you out of here, and we'll go somewhere quiet," Stefan said and Vicki nodded shakily. That sounded good. She didn't want things to be loud and she wanted the hunger to stop. If Stefan knew how to take care of this, she'd go with him.

"Okay, I'll go with you," she agreed. "Can we get something to eat?" she begged.

"Yeah, of course," he assured. _Man, she's probably starving. She needs blood_, he thought to himself. With that, they headed to the parking lot, and got into the car as he dialed a number.

"Hello?" he heard Damon respond some moments later.

"We have a problem. Someone's just turned Vicki Donovan and she is freaking out," Stefan answered. _Not that I can blame her. She had never expected this to happen her_, he thought.

"Bring her here. I'll have some blood ready for her," Damon responded.

"Blood!" Vicki exclaimed. "Why do I need blood?" she asked.

"Thanks," Stefan said quickly and hung up.

"Why do I need blood?" Vicki asked again. _Blood? What can blood to for me?_ she wondered.

"I'll explain everything soon," Stefan promised and revved the engine as he headed for his house. When they finally got there, Stefan quickly led Vicki into their home and she headed towards their cellar.

"Damon, we're here!" he called. Vicki inhaled sharply. That smell-it was **so** enticing. Her eyes darkening, she continued to head for the stairs.

"Vicki, hold on!" Stefan cautioned, reaching out and grabbing her wrist.

"But I'm hungry and it smells so good!" Vicki protested, trying to pull away.

"I know, I know. But you just need to calm down," Stefan stated, tightening.

"I WANT IT!" Vicki shrieked, pushing him back. Stefan grunted as he hit the wall. _Oh, man. I forgot how strong a person can be while in transition_, he thought and then watched as she hurried down the stairs only to be intercepted by Damon.

"Easy now, I've got exactly what you need," he soothed, handing her an open blood bag. She took the bag and began to drink eagerly. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Easy. Not too fast," he cautioned. They didn't need her getting overwhelmed. "Nice and slow," he told her. "Stef, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah. Only thing wounded is my pride," came the response as the younger brother came into view.

"Vicki, who did this to you?" Damon queried as he took the bag away.

"It was this guy-this tall guy-and he had this accent-he said that I was a message for someone named Katerina," Vicki respond. Stefan and Damon froze and looked at one another.

"What'd he look like?" Stefan questioned.

"What kind of message?" Damon asked at the same time.

"He was tall, his hair was the same color as Matty's….He said that-that-" she trailed off.

"What? What'd he say?" Stefan prompted.

"That if Katerina and her Doppelganger don't deliver themselves up to him so that he can unleash his wolf side, he'll change everyone here," Vicki told them. Stefan and Damon looked at each other, horror in their eyes. Klaus had done this. He had ruined Vicki's life. "Oh, gosh! What if he changes Matty?"

"We won't let that happen," Stefan soothed. Vicki smiled and then groaned.

"I need to take her hunting," Damon realized. The blood bag had helped her to stave the bloodlust, but in order to transition fully; she had to drink from a live victim.

"Go," Stefan stated, nodding at his brother. He knew that his brother needed a way to deal and helping the girl to complete the transition would accomplish this. _Oh, man. This is starting to feel like 1864 all over again_, he thought to himself. There was no telling how many people Klaus had working for him and Stefan wasn't sure if they'd be able to keep their true natures a secret if more and more vampires started cropping up. _Stefan looked around as people ran about, screaming as they were being chased._ _Oh, this is not good__, he thought. How had Katherine and her friends been exposed? It certainly hadn't been by him, Damon, or Casey._

"_We have to go…now!" Stefan warned, as he slung Katherine over his shoulder. They had to get Katherine to safety. They couldn't let her be killed just because of the townspeople's hatred. With that, they all took off. _

"_Vampires! Over there!" someone shouted._

"_Ben Lockwood," Cassandra declared angrily. __The man is an annoyance__, Stefan thought to himself and he continued on his way. Without warning, a shot rang out. Stefan froze. __No__, he thought and then darkness claimed him as he collapsed._ Stefan gave himself a mental shake and forced the memory away. That had not been a good night. A lot of people had died, both vampire **and** human. It was the night Damon had killed their father to protect their sister. And now it would appear that danger had reared its head once more. _Oh great. I thought that this was supposed to be a fresh start_, he thought to himself. Would they have to leave again? _I don't want to leave. This is my home, I like it here_, he thought to himself. He was sick of having to leave places because he was a vampire. While all of this was going on, Logan had gone over to the Gilbert house where he had met with Grayson.

"What are you doing here, Logan?" Grayson questioned, fighting back a sigh. He had thought that the man would've gotten the hint that Jenna wasn't interested in him, but apparently it hadn't sunk in.

"Look, we need to find the other Gilbert Device-the one that'll actually **kill** vampires," Logan replied. "It's our duty as Council Members and I figured that since it was your ancestor that created these devices, that you would have them and most likely that you were using the excuse that your family had lost the other device so that you could whip it out at the last minute and be the hero. But we need it now. So, you just tell me where it is and we'll get it, go to the Council together, do whatever it is we need to do to activate it, and then this nightmare will be over," he said.

"Really? You think I'd tell you anything about those devices?" Grayson queried. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. His family had sworn to protect Katherine and her friends and there was no way he was going to back out on that, even if he **did** know where the other device was…which he didn't.

"Grayson, we need to save the town. **Someone** is turning us into vampires one-by-one, and we need to protect ourselves and this town," Logan responded. Grayson fell silent. Logan **did** have a point. But he couldn't just let the other man have the compass and he had **no** idea where the other device was….not that he'd admit that to him.

"Look, I get what you're saying, Logan, but this isn't the way. I'll come up with something," Grayson assured.

"This is no time to play hero, Grayson! Why are you being such a coward?" Logan yelled.

"Get out of my home, Logan. I know what you're looking for and it's not here!" Grayson yelled back.

"What about-"

"As for the other device, I honestly have no clue what happened to it. It was lost a long time ago. Now get off of my property before I call Sheriff Forbes!" With that, Logan scurried out of the house. He had no desire to get arrested and besides, if he was in the town lockup, he couldn't find the other Gilbert Device. And if Grayson was claiming he didn't have it, it only stood to reason that Jonathan Gilbert had given it to someone else for safekeeping. _Well, then, I guess I'll just have to do a little more digging_, he thought to himself. He'd go home and research his family's journals to see if any of his family members had been in Jonathan Gilbert's confidence. Yes, that was a good idea. He just had to tweak his plan a little bit. But soon, people would see that he was more than the screw up that they believed him to be and they'd **beg** him to take a more active role on the Council. With that, his features curved into a grin and headed home.


	20. Children Of The Damned Part 3

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Long Live BRUCAS: Yeah he's bad. Maybe not as bad as Klaus though.

Xxlovethisxx: Thanks. Here's the next chapter.

DISCLAIMER

Vampire Diaries belongs to LJ. Smith and the CW. The Strikers angle comes from L.J. Smith's _Dark Vision Trilogy_ and belongs to her. I only own plots and characters you don't recognize.

While all of this was going on, Damon had taken Vicki out into the woods.

"I don't get it. What are we doing here?" Vicki wondered. _I just want this hunger to stop. Why are we in the woods?_ she thought to herself.

"Because this is part of how I'm going to help you," Damon replied.

"What?" Vicki asked in confusion. _I don't get it. How could being in the woods help me?_ she wondered.

"You're in transition. You're turning into a vampire," he told her.

"WHAT!?" she exclaimed. "No, no, no, no! They're not real! That's not possible! I don't want to be like this!" she continued.

"Are you saying that you'd rather die without making the change?" he questioned. He hadn't even thought about that. But if that's what she wanted, he'd let her do it.

"Die? No! I don't want to die!"

"Then you need to feed."

"No! I-I can't! I need to think!" Vicki panted nervously as she messed up her hair with her hands. None of this was making sense. There was no such thing as vampires. They only existed in books and movies. They weren't real. But from what Damon was saying, they were. And she was turning into one. _I don't want to be a vampire_, she thought. But she couldn't leave Matty all alone. What was she supposed to do? Then she panted as a memory hit her.

"_You don't want to do drugs," Damon stated._

"_I don't want to do drugs," Vicki repeated._

"_You have Matt and Jeremy who care about you. If you get a craving for drugs or feel the urge to take them, you'll call Matt or Jeremy," Damon repeated._

"_If I feel an urge to take them, I'll call Matt or Jeremy," Vicki dutifully echoed._

"**You**. You made me not crave drugs," she realized.

"Yes, I did," Damon confirmed.

"Help me. I can't leave Matty all alone," she said. _She's worried about her brother. Doesn't wanna leave him_, Damon thought to himself. He could certainly understand that. A family bond was a pretty powerful thing. And if she was focusing on her brother, it would help her to keep her humanity if she decided to turn.

"Of course you can't. It would hurt him," came the response.

"What do I have to do? How do I change?" she wondered.

"You need blood-human blood. And then I'll have to get you inside somewhere otherwise you'll burn to a crisp," he told her.

"How do you know so much about this?" she questioned.

"I'm a vampire," he told her.

"But you're walking around in the sun," she said.

"I have a ring that protects me," he replied, turning his hand so that she could see his ring. Suddenly, she groaned and doubled up and instantly, he was at her side. "I hate to put pressure on you, but you need to make a choice, fast," he told her.

"I don't want to die. I don't want to leave Matty," she stated.

"Okay, then. You need to feed," he told her.

"The cemetery. I used to go there to get stoned," she said and before she knew what was happening, he took off and within seconds, they were at the cemetery. Vicki looked around until she saw who she was looking for. "There. Him," she said, pointing to a boy who was talking with his friends.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, his name's Tony and he's a jerk."

"Can you get him alone?"

"Yeah."

"Do it." Vicki walked up to Tony, groaning and acting as if she was in pain.

"Yo Vick…you okay?"

"I'm hurting so bad…I need something. Please?"

"Well, you know it's gonna cost you."

"Anything, anything, just…please…" Tony chuckled at the words. He loved it when Vicki got like this. He didn't know why she hadn't been around in a while though there were rumors that she was actually clean, but it appeared that whatever she had been doing hadn't taken. She was still jonesing for a hit. And from the looks of it, she was willing to do whatever he wanted to score. _This will be good_, he thought to himself.

"Let's go, Babe. We'll have ourselves a little private party." Damon watched as Vicki led the boy away from his friends as she started to kiss him. He had heard every word and had to fight to keep from vamping out at the leer in his voice. He had known right away what the boy had in mind and he had the urge to just kill him and get it over with, but it was apparent that Vicki was handling herself just fine. This would be good. And luckily, this Tony guy was wearing a jacket, which he could use to cover Vicki after she transitioned. Tony smirked to himself as he continued to kiss Vicki, letting his hands roam lower and lower until they reached her jeans. Vicki watched carefully as she continued to lead Tony into the woods. She had to make sure they were out of sight. She wasn't sure how she knew this, she just did. When she finally lost sight of the boy's friends, she laughed.

"What?" he asked. To his surprise, she laughed again. "What?"

"I'm just happy," she responded and then began to place kisses on his neck. As she did so, she could hear the blood pumping through his veins. _I want this. He's always hurt me. I want to hurt him_, she thought. But how could she do it? Sensing that the girl was ready to make her move, the older vampire blurred towards them, letting his true features show.

"Whoa! What-" Tony's question was cut off as Damon tore into his neck with his fangs. When he was through, blood was spilling from his neck. Instantly, Vicki lunged for the blood, drinking eagerly. "The hell?" was all he was able to get out. Then, he moaned as his body began to fall to the ground. Seeing this, Damon pulled Vicki away, stealing the younger boy's jacket at the same time.

"Okay, you're good. We gotta get you out of here," he stated.

"Freak. Gonna tell everyone," the boy mumbled. He had to make sure his friends knew not to do any deals with Vicki. She had turned into a total psycho. Damon let out a huff. They didn't have time for this. Making a quick decision, he grabbed the boy's neck and deftly twisted. Then, covering Vicki, he blurred back to the Salvatore Boarding House.

"So it's done then?" Stefan asked as she was brought in.

"Yeah. Vicki's officially one of us," Damon replied. Stefan's eyes clouded as he stared at the girl. Poor thing. She hadn't thought this would happen to her. She had practically been forced into it. Well, he wasn't going to let her go through this alone. And neither would Damon or the others.

"So, we need to find her a Lapis Lazuli piece of jewelry then," Stefan stated.

"Yeah," Damon agreed.

"Why would I need something like that?" Vicki wondered. "And what's Lapis Lazuli?" she added. _And why does that sound familiar?_ she mused to herself.

"It's a type of blue stone and it possesses certain properties needed to complete a spell that allows whoever's wearing something with the stone in it to walk around in the day," Stefan explained.

"Wait. You mentioned that before I drank from Tony. How come that's never been mentioned in movies or books?" Vicki asked.

"Because most humans aren't aware of that little fact," Damon responded.

"Why not?" Vicki wondered again. If she had the power to allow vampires to walk around in the sun, she'd tell people. Hey, it was only fair to warn them.

"Because there's only one witch line that knows the spell and if it became widely known, they'd be a target for every vampire out there," Stefan answered.

"Plus, a spell like this requires a certain amount of energy and depending on how experienced the witch is, it can take a lot out of them," Damon added. Vicki looked at them, confusion etched all over her face. "Looks like we're going to Sheila's. Come on, I'll give you a crash course in Vampires and Witches 101 on the way," he said.

"And I'll go see what I can do about procuring you a piece of jewelry. Do you have anything that has any sentimental value or you could see yourself wearing for the rest of your life?" the younger vampire asked.

"There's a necklace that was my grandmother's. Mom was gonna hock it when she took off, but Matty hid it so she took something else," came the answer.

"What does it look like?" Stefan wondered. It'd be easy enough to get in since Matt had long ago invited him in for a study session and he had been able to get in, indicating that Matt owned the house, which was a bit odd that the house would be in his name, but after hearing that their mother was often gallivanting all over the world in search of the next big party, Stefan supposed that it made sense for Matt to put the house in his name.

"It's a blue stone on a silver chain," came the response.

"Okay," he said. Then, he grabbed his phone and his keys, got into his car, put the key in the ignition, started the car, and then drove off. It only took him a few minutes to get to the house and once he was there, he walked in and headed for Vicki's room. He looked around, focusing on each item in the room until he found what he was looking for: a silver chain that had a dark blue stone at the bottom that was held in place by a silver band. _Well, it's not really her style, but if this is what she wants, this is what we'll use_, he thought to himself. Then again, he hadn't known Vicki before she started using, so maybe this was her **true** style. Throwing these thoughts off, he grabbed the necklace, and then headed back to his car, put the key in the ignition, started the car, and headed back the way he had come. As headed down the street, his phone rang. He then reached into his pocket, pulled the phone out, and answered it.

"Yeah?" he questioned, holding the phone to his hear.

"Stefan, is that you, Boy?" he heard Sheila Bennett question.

"Yes, Sheila, it's me," he confirmed.

"Damon has required my services," Sheila stated.

"Sheila, I know that this spell takes a lot of energy and-" he began to say.

"Oh, never mind that, Child. Just get the stone and then get your ass down here," Sheila interrupted. Stefan made a noise of surprise. Had he really heard the older Bennett say that? Before he could form a proper response, he heard a dial tone, indicating that she had hung up. _Okay then_, he thought to himself, putting the phone on the seat beside him. It was obvious that Sheila didn't want to waste any time and he wasn't going to make her wait any longer than absolutely necessary. When he finally reached the Bennett house, he walked up and knocked on the door, which was soon opened to reveal Sheila Bennett.

"Come on in, Stefan," the woman stated and he stepped inside the threshold. Vicki bit her lip and she looked at the others.

"Is this going to hurt?" she asked.

"Absolutely not, Child," the woman said with a reassuring smile. "But I will need a drop of your blood on your necklace and then you need to step back for a moment." Vicki took her necklace, hesitantly cut her wrist, letting blood drip on the necklace, and then handed it to the older woman, stepping back quickly as the woman opened the blinds and held the necklace in the sun as she said a spell. Everyone watched as the sun sparkled over the necklace before dying out. Then Stefan took the necklace and handed it to Vicki who placed the jewelry around her neck. "Well go ahead, Girl. Don't just stand there," Sheila encouraged. With obvious trepidation, Vicki walked forward. Damon said that vampires burned in the sun. What if Miss Sheila's spell hadn't worked? Would she die right away? However, she was pleasantly surprised to only feel the warmth of the sun on her skin.

"Wow! This is awesome!" she exclaimed, spinning in a circle. _This is really cool!_ She thought. "What can I do now? Can I see Matty?" she queried. She didn't care what happened now. She just wanted to see Matty.

"Of course," Damon replied. _I know how close they are and it makes sense that she'd want to see him_, he mused.

"Are you sure she's ready?" Stefan asked in concern.

"I'll watch out for her," Damon assured. He understood where his younger brother was coming from, but the girl needed to stay as close to her humanity as she could and her brother helped her achieve that. Therefore, staying close to her brother was the most viable option. He then grabbed his keys, took her hand, and led her to his car. Once they were in, Damon put the key in the ignition, started the car, and drove off, heading back to the hospital. Vicki bit her lip nervously. She wasn't sure how badly she had hurt Matty but she hoped that it wasn't too bad.

"You all right?" Damon queried.

"I hurt Matty. He's in the hospital because of **me**," Vicki responded.

"Everything that makes you who you are has been magnified: your love for your brother, anger during a fight…It's all a natural part of turning. This wasn't your fault," he assured.

"I wanted to drink from him. I-I almost-I almost hurt him," she said.

"It's a natural craving. Don't take it personally," he stated. The last thing they needed was for her to get down on herself.

"I just…I don't want to hurt him."

"And I'll make sure that you don't." And that was the truth. Damon knew that Vicki would never forgive herself if she ever hurt Matt and he wouldn't let her do anything to him. It was hard enough to adjust to being a vampire as it was, no need to add any more stress to her new life. When they finally got back to the hospital, Vicki bit her lip, which didn't go unnoticed by Damon.

"You all right? You sure you're up for this?" he checked. He didn't want her feeling too overwhelmed and if this was going to be difficult for her…

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just hope he doesn't hate me. I **am** the one who hurt him," she answered.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. It wasn't your fault," he reminded her. It was hard enough for a person who **knew** they were transitioning into a vampire to control themselves around blood, and if a person **didn't** know what was going on, they'd be incredibly frightened…which was probably how Vicki had felt when everything had gone down. She had had no idea that vampires were even real until this had happened to her. She flashed him a smile and he then nodded and then they both opened the door and headed back in. Meanwhile, Logan was back at his apartment, searching through his ancestors' journals. There had to be **something** in these journals about the Gilbert Device. The Fells were one of the most influential families in Mystic Falls so it would stand to reason that Jonathan Gilbert had had to report whatever he did to Tobias Fell. But from what he was reading in here, his ancestor hadn't been in the know. With a frustrated cry, he threw one of the journals across the room. While all of this was going on, Pearl had been on the phone with Grayson Gilbert.

"Thank you, Grayson. Yes, I understand. We'll be very careful," Pearl stated and then hung up and turned to her friend.

"What's up?" Lexi asked.

"Logan Fell is looking for the other Gilbert Device," Pearl reported.

"The other Gilbert Device-I know one was a compass which is now in the hands of Elena. What was the other one?" Lexi questioned.

"Oh, that's right. You weren't in Mystic Falls when that happened," Pearl recalled. The blonde-haired vampire had been traveling in other parts of the country at the time so she wouldn't know about what was going on in Mystic Falls. "The Gilbert Compass was designed to track down vampires but was spelled by Emily Bennett so that it would sometimes take a while to pinpoint it," she explained.

"And this other device?" Lexi questioned.

"It was a whistle that has two parts and when it's put together and then placed in a box and activated, it would have the ability to let out a piercing tone that would kill us in an instant-a frequency that Jonathan Gilbert stumbled on quite by accident even though he was-in my opinion-a certified genius. Anyways, once he realized the danger, he dismantled the whistle and hid it for safe keeping," Pearl explained.

"So, we need to find that device-**fast**! The Council-" Lexi began to say frantically.

"Doesn't even know where it is," Pearl interrupted calmly. Lexi stared at her a moment. Why was she so calm? Didn't she care about Anna? Why wouldn't she be freaking out about this? Then what she said dawned on her.

"The Council doesn't, but **you** do," she realized. Pearl nodded.

"Like I said, Jonathan Gilbert made sure it was somewhere safe," she confirmed.

"Well, where is it?" the other vampire questioned. For an answer, Pearl walked up to her dresser and pulled one of the drawers out and Lexi watched as the older vampire opened up a false compartment. "You've had it all these years?"

"Jonathan Gilbert did **not** want this to fall into the Council's hands, but he willed the compass to his descendants so that they would still have a means of staying safe." Lexi nodded. That made sense. From what she had heard, Jonathan Gilbert had been a good man and would want to keep people safe, but wouldn't condone outright killing. So he would do what he could to protect the town, as well as protecting innocents-well, as much as an innocent a vampire could be.

"So it stands to reason that Logan Fell is looking for it so that he can make good with the Council," Lexi surmised.

"Quite right," Pearl agreed.

"And we'll make sure that doesn't happen," Lexi determined and Pearl nodded. Then she watched as her friend closed the compartment and then returned the drawer to its proper place.

"There. Safe and sound," Pearl stated and Lexi let out an unnecessary sigh of relief. Logan would never be able to find that device and they'd all remain safe, which was all that mattered…

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry this took so long. Got busy with RP sites and I had a hard time with certain transitions in the chap. And if you're interested, I have a site that's loosely based on this reality. loveneverdies . freeforums


	21. Interlude 1

SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Long Live BRUCAS: You'll have to wait and see, but no Lexi will **not** be giving the device to Logan or telling him about it in anyway.

DISCLAIMER

Yes, I know it's been a while but this chap gave me fits like no other! And yes, despite the length, this is an **interlude**. Vampire Diaries belongs to L.J. Smith and the CW. The Strikers angle came from something I read in the _Dark Visions_ Trilogy, which belongs to L.J. Smith. I only own the new plots and characters you don't recognize.

Vicki glanced at Stefan uncertainly.

"Do we really have to do this? Why can't I just have people blood?" she wondered. People blood tasted **so** much better. Animal blood was totally gross!

"Because you need to get a balance between the two. If you don't get that balance, you risk becoming a danger to Matt," he told her. _Why did I offer to handle this part of the training again?_ he wondered.

"But I can barely choke animal blood down," she whined. People blood was **much** easier to swallow and she'd rather live on that alone. Not that she wanted to hurt Matty, but couldn't he see how hard this was?

"I get it. I **do**. It took me a week before I could choke it down without throwing up. But in the long run, I found that my family and I were better off for it as it allowed us to blend in with society while retaining our full strength," he said. Vicki blew out an unneeded breath and nodded. She knew Stefan was just trying to help her, but that didn't make it any easier. They had been at this for a few days now and she kept throwing up the animal blood. But it wasn't like she was **trying** to puke the stuff up, she just couldn't help it! It was disgusting! Stefan looked at Vicki sympathetically. He knew **exactly** how she felt. He had had a hard time with this himself after he had been turned. _Stefan huffed as Pearl motioned for him to chase down the bear that they were hunting._

_ "This blood is disgusting. Human tastes much better,"_ _he insisted._

_ "And if you want to survive in society for more than a year or two, you'll learn to drink it," came the response. Stefan rolled his eyes but went in the direction Pearl had indicated, reaching and felling the bear in record time. With a growl, Stefan buried his fangs into the bear's throat, drinking quickly. When he had enough, he moved away and the bear slunk off. He then turned to Pearl, who stared at_ _him._

_ "There? You see? That wasn't so-" Pearl's comment died off as Stefan immediately began to retch, the blood coming out in a gush. She let out an unnecessary breath and ran her fingers through her hair._

_ "I see we still have work to do," she_ _commented. _ Stefan gave himself a mental shake and realized that Vicki was staring at him in concern. _Well, at least she didn't run off_, he thought to himself. It was something he had done constantly when Pearl was teaching him about balancing the two types of blood.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Now, come on. Let's go see what we can find," he stated, resulting in a groan of disgust.

"Slave driver," she complained, but she nevertheless followed him as he headed deeper into the woods. When they finally got to their destination, she saw a deer and ran towards it. Hey, if they were going to do this, she might as well just get it over with. With lightning speed, she lunged on top of the animal and then sank her fangs into the back of its neck, drinking fluidly. When she had had her fill, she pulled away and it staggered to its feet and hobbled off. Vicki looked at Stefan, who motioned for her to follow him, which she did. As she did so, she began to look around as she honed her senses on the forest. This was the part of being a vampire that she liked: she could see and hear everything for miles and miles. It was awesome! She could hear birds, and squirrels, she could see deer, and chipmunks…like she said, it was awesome. Suddenly, she could feel the blood she had just consumed trying to come back up and she doubled up. Hearing the sounds, Stefan was instantly by her side but Vicki waved him off as she swallowed the blood back down. However, some of it managed to escape onto the ground. Stefan reached into his pocket and offered her some paper towels that he had brought for this very thing.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm sorry," she apologized, using the towels to clean herself up.

"Don't be. You're keeping more of it down and that's all that matters," he assured. _Heaven knows it's not easy to do_, he thought to himself. Then, his ears picked up the sound of something coming at them fast and instantly turned in the direction of the sound even as Vicki did the same.

"What is that? Is anyone else hunting out here?" she questioned.

"I don't think so," he replied. He wasn't hearing his siblings, Anna, Pearl, Lexi, or Katherine, so he wasn't sure what was causing the frantic pounding of hooves from the deer. Without warning, the animal came bounding out towards them and Stefan moved quickly, tackling the deer and sinking his teeth into it, letting the blood course down his throat, being careful not to let any of the blood drip. He didn't want to waste a drop. He had never liked doing that. Okay, so he didn't really need to feed but it wasn't really fair to put the girl through this if he wasn't going to do it himself. Fair was fair after all. Besides, what else was he supposed to do with an animal that came charging at them? A few moments later, he released the buck which scrambled to its feet and then hurried away. "Come on. Let's go," he said and they headed back into town. "You did good by the way."

"I did?"

"Yeah." Vicki laughed in delight. Though she didn't necessarily like drinking animal blood, she was glad that it was Stefan who was teaching her as he was always really patient with her. _I don't know if I would've survived this long without him_, she thought to herself. Meanwhile, Tyler was at a meeting that Mayor Lockwood had dragged him to. _Ugh. This is so boring_, he thought to himself. He had no interest in being the town's next mayor, and yet his father just couldn't seem to take the hint. And that was how he had found himself at this meeting. Well, at least he had mastered the art of tuning people out. And it certainly helped in these situations. Suddenly, he felt a smack on his arm and he turned to his dad in surprise.

"I asked you a question, Tyler," Richard snapped.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I zoned out. What'd you say?" he questioned.

"Tyler, would you just pay attention for once in your life?" Richard snapped again.

"Richard, just ask him again," one of the men said.

"I said, 'What do you think about rezoning some of the streets so that we could gain more business off of the highway?" Richard repeated.

"Um, I would say 'Why?' I mean, we've got plenty of business," Tyler responded. _I'd also say we should cut this stupid meeting short. It's boring and unnecessary_, he thought to himself as he stared at the man's business partners, his eyes narrowing as he turned to them. _Call the meeting off, call the meeting off, call the meeting off_, he begged silently, unaware when a red spark of electricity flew from Tyler's eyes and into the eyes of the two men who then turned to Richard.

"Richard. Let's just call the meeting off," one said.

"What?" Richard asked.

"Jackson's right. It's stupid, boring, and unnecessary," another man added. _Huh? What? _Tyler thought to himself. Was this really happening? Were these guys really saying what he was thinking? This was unreal! But it was kind of cool.

"I don't know what's even going on anyway. Let's just get out of here," a third man said and to the amazement of both Tyler and Richard, the men walked out of the room and headed for the door.

"What just happened?" Richard demanded.

"I don't know, but if we're done, I'm out of here," Tyler declared as he grabbed his car keys and then headed out of the house, unlocking his car, getting in, turning the engine on, and then heading for the Grill. While this was going on, Caroline was at the Grill, eating a meal and playing pool, which was one of her favorite pastimes. In her opinion; why put off a perfectly good game of pool just because you were eating? As she continued to play, two guys walked up to her.

"So Caroline, playing pool, huh?" one asked.

"Yep," she confirmed.

"How 'bout a partner? Or two?" the second boy questioned.

"No thanks. I'm good," Caroline replied as she took another shot and then watched as a striped ball went in. She then took a bite of her burger and then got into position to attempt to sink one of the solids. She hit the ball with her cue and it made to the edge of the pocket and then stopped, causing her to groan in annoyance.

"Oooh, tough. You just needed a little more oomph behind the shot," the first boy sympathized.

"Yeah, let us show you," the second boy offered and before Caroline knew what was happening, they were right behind her as one of the boys placed his arms around her arms in the guise of guiding her hands over the pool cue.

"I know how to play pool just fine, thank you," she responded, squirming out of the grasp. _Oh I bet I can get her to change her mind_, the first boy thought to himself. She's so hot we can make her do whatever we want, the second boy thought to himself. Caroline just squirmed and finally managed to get out of the boy's grasp.

"Back off, graboids!" she snapped turning around, not realizing that Tyler was walking in. _If they want to play handsies with someone, why don't they do it with each other?_ she angrily thought to herself. "One: I'm not that type of a girl. Two: I know how to play pool, and three: if you wanna screw someone, look to each other!" she snapped, her eyes flashing as she glared at them angrily. Unknown to the trio, an orange spark of electricity shot out from Caroline's eyes and entered the boys' eyes. She then watched in amazement as they turned to one another and began groping one another, heading for the exit, passing Tyler who glanced at them briefly before he continued on to where Caroline was.

"What was that all about?" Tyler wondered, coming up to her.

"I have no idea. I just told them that if they wanted to get grabby, turn to each other! I was just trying to get them to leave me alone and then **that** happened. It was really weird," Caroline responded.

"Yeah, something weird just happened with me too," Tyler told her and he went on to explain what had transpired at the meeting that he had been dragged to.

"That is so weird. Why would that happen unless-" Caroline's voice trailed off as the two stared at one another.

"The last of our powers came back," they realized together.

"The Strikers are reborn!" Tyler commented, putting his hand up for a high five.

"Yes!" Caroline celebrated, obliging him and they turned to the pool table and started a game. Meanwhile, back at the Salvatore house, Damon had just opened the front door, intending to leave. However, he paused when he saw Vicki.

"Where's Stefan? Everything okay?" he queried.

"Everything's fine. I released him from babysitting duty," she answered.

"What can I do for you then?" Damon queried.

"I just wanted to thank you," Vicki stated.

"For what?" Damon questioned.

"For compelling away my urge for drugs. You really saved my life," Vicki replied. And it was true. With the way she was acting, she was surprised that she hadn't gotten herself killed.

"No problem. Glad it worked out," Damon told her and she smiled as they headed away from the house. Yeah, things had gotten tough after she was turned, but overall, things were **definitely** looking up…


End file.
